Revenge
by The Darklight Angel
Summary: A fatal accident that happened to the wrong person. Thats what they deemed it. But with almost every 'accident' comes those who want revenge. And revenge is exactly what drove a Guardian to commit the greatest massacres ever seen in Lore. Complete.
1. The Preview

**Revenge**

So this is another fic from me. It's set around the lines in 'As Time Goes by', by Xenolord, that say

_"Rayne... All I remember of Rayne is how she died. It was the stupidest thing you__'__d ever think, and you won__'__t believe me when I tell you... but she was killed in a freak accident when a Drakel scientist was showing the people of Battleon how to use guns. I guess those bullets __gotta__ come down somewhere..._

_"Lizzie was shattered with Rayne__'__s death, and went on a five year rampage throughout Drakel lands, killing countless of them__, trying__ to bring Rayne back. She blamed the Drakel for Rayne__'__s death... and I suppose in a sick way, she was right. Her blood rage was finally ended when she was brought before the Drakel courts in their Super City of __Ren-Tiak__, found guilty and executed. If that wasn__'__t enough, they hung her corpse outside the city for all to see... She was such a sweet little girl..."_

This is sort've the sneak peak. I'm still working on the rest of the story, and I'll post it when I'm done. So, read this preview, and I hope you enjoy.

-

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Rayne, Trip, Kay, and Felix. Xenolord owns Maria, Natalya, Serras, Gale, and Jess. Flame-tiger and I own Felix. All others do not belong to me.

* * *

_As quietly as possible, she packed as many of the necessities as needed. Grabbing her spare clothing and shoving them into her bag, she then headed down the stairs. As she moved, she paused at a single door. The door that lead to Kay's bedroom, in fact._

_She looked at the door. She placed her hand on it, and her other hand reached for the knob, but she hesitated. She pulled her hand away slowly, and her eyes shut. She kept her hand on that door, before crouching down, and slipping something underneath it. As she stood back up again, her eyes opened, and they flickered with something, something that was like a mixture of sorrow, regret, and longing. Longing for times past, and what used to be._

_But they only held such emotion for a moment._

_She continued onwards, and made her way to the lower floor. Once there, she filled her bag with water, and what food she could carry without fear of spoiling. With her bag almost full, she rushed out of the house._

_The next thing she knew, she was at a room in the Guardian tower. Striding around the room, she began to take various things that were inside of it._

_The room used to be theirs, but when they moved out, they had converted the room as a sort of armoury for them and the others on the floor. Their armour and weapons – sans the standard issue armour and blades that they kept at the house- were all there._

_She swept up a few weapons and attached them safely to her belt. With those weapons, was her special Sacred Staff._

_She reached automatically next to the spot where she usually kept her staff. Instead of grasping onto a hilt, all that was there was thin air._

_She looked at the spot, and scanned her eyes around the room for whatever was kept their. Alas, it wasn't to be found, and her quick visual search was in vain._

_It seemed that the Holy Blade, just like its owner, was gone._

_She stopped for this fact for only a moment, before she got to work again. She needed to finish soon._

_Swiping some health and mana potions, she tucked them neatly into the bag. It was swelling now from its contents, but she knew it would hold. It had gone through wars, through battles, through disasters with her, and it always held. Much like-_

_She shook her head. She couldn't think about her now._

_She double checked her bag, also making sure that she had gold on her. Everything was secure, and everything was ready to go. She also made sure that the special armour she had donned was fastened securely, and wouldn't fall off at any time. Satisfied, she thought-_

_'Only one thing missing now.'_

_She pulled one last item off of a hook on the wall. Turning it inside out, she laid it upon her shoulders. With a satisfying click and a firm knot, it fastened around her neck._

_She headed out of the dorms, and walked outside._

_Dressed from head to toe in black, the moon shone its silvery light down on her. The pitch black armour she was wearing reflected the light back, with every step she took. And she walked, her lover's cloak upon her shoulders. Her steps never faltered. _

_Lizzie kept on walking until she was out of Battleon, never turning back for a last glance._

-

So I hope this piqued your interest, and you'll read what else there is once I finish the story.


	2. The Beginning, part I

Revenge

So this is another fic from me. Its set around the lines in 'As Time Goes by', by Xenolord, that says

_"Rayne... All I remember of Rayne is how she died. It was the stupidest thing you__'__d ever think, and you won__'__t believe me when I tell you... but she was killed in a freak accident when a Drakel scientist was showing the people of Battleon how to use guns. I guess those bullets gotta come down somewhere..._

_"Lizzie was shattered with Rayne__'__s death, and went on a five year rampage throughout Drakel lands, killing countless of them, trying to bring Rayne back. She blamed the Drakel for Rayne__'__s death... and I suppose in a sick way, she was right. Her blood rage was finally ended when she was brought before the Drakel courts in their Super City of Ren-Tiak, found guilty and executed. If that wasn__'__t enough, they hung her corpse outside the city for all to see... She was such a sweet little girl..."_

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Rayne, Trip, Kay, and Felix. Xenolord owns Maria, Natalya, Serras, Gale, and Jess. Flame-tiger and I own Felix. All others do not belong to me.

This is the real story. It's becoming kind of long though, so I've decided that I'll probably break it up into chapters.

* * *

_A scream_

_A sickening crunch._

_"Die."_

_A click of a blade sliding into place._

_Blood._

_The stench of death._

_Corpses._

_Everywhere._

_All of these sights, sounds, and smells assaulted the senses of the person who stood right in the middle of it all._

_That person looked on silently, not a word out of their mouth. They stood, right in the center, yet all of the sights, sounds, and smells did nothing to them._

_With but a swish of a black cloak, and a light clank of armour, the person left, not a trace of emotion betraying their dull, lifeless green eyes._

* * *

"As you can see, dear people, these 'firearms' as we call them, will revolutionize Lore as we know it!"

The crowd 'oohed' and 'aahed', and some shook their heads in disbelief at what the Drakel scientist was saying.

Rayne Anasi, however, simply rolled her eyes. People were so easily impressed. They didn't realize, was that these firearms might 'revolutionize Lore as they know it', but along with that revolution would come more violence.

"Something on your mind Rayne?"

Rayne looked as the source of the voice, that being Trip Hitai.

"I'm just thinking, really."

"Gold piece for your thoughts?" Trip asked.

Rayne shrugged. "Just about how while this man goes on and on about the greatness of his weapon, he doesn't realize that all they really do is give people easier ways to kill and fight amongst themselves. Honestly, I wouldn't even be here right now."

Trip looked quizzically at her friend. "Then why are you here?"

"I was asking Maria if she wanted to get some lunch earlier. She said she was too busy, because the captain had sent her on an errand. Then Krieger came up, and asked me to supervise here."

"Wrong place, at the wrong time, huh?" Trip said, sympathizing. Rayne nodded.

"I could've been spending time with Lizzie and Kay, or training, or eating, or...or..."

"Be doing anything other than this?"

"Exactly." Rayne agreed. Her eyes flicked back at the Drakel, who was on a makeshift stage of a few wooden planks upon some stilts. "Oh, look, he's about to show us how it works."

Trip looked back up at the Drakel, who smiled, and waved the gun around himself.

"Now watch, as I show you all just exactly how it works!"

The scientist held up his large gun, and aimed it at a set up target. Grasping the trigger with a clawed singer, he squeezed it, expecting the bullet to fly and hit its target.

But at that moment, he had taken a small, almost unnoticeable step forward. That step caused him to trip, and lose his perfect aim. Instead of the bullet hitting the target, it flew in a different direction, ricocheting off of the head of a large metal nail, and headed back into the crowd, here it found itself lodged...

Right in the chest of Rayne.

Rayne looked down for a moment, at the blood that she could see slowly seeping out from the wound, and into her shirt.

"Oh no." She whispered, and collapsed.

* * *

Lizzie smiled as she headed down Main Street, with Kay at her side.

"Think mom will be surprised?" The woman asked her mother, holding onto a basket in one hand. "I mean, we haven't had a picnic since I was a little girl."

"Hopefully." Lizzie responded. "I know for a fact that the captain said that once the demonstration was over, she can have the rest of the day to herself until further notice. So at least we've got a guarantee about our picnic happening."

"It's getting through the whole thing that we have to worry about." Kay said, and both redheads shared a laugh.

"I can see her now!" Lizzie smiled, as she caught sight of Rayne. She was standing next to Trip, and both were without armour. It was just a harmless demonstration after all; there was no need to be suited up for battle.

They both heard the drakel's announcement, and they both heard the firearm go off.

And they both saw, almost in slow motion, the bullet piercing Rayne's body. The picnic basket fell out of Kay's hand, as they watched Rayne collapse.

The same sweet smile on both mother and daughter's face disappeared instantly, and were replaced with looks of horror.

"MOM!"

"RAYNE!"

Lizzie and Kay screamed simultaneously. Both ran as fast as they could, pushing at anything and anyone in her way. Nothing mattered at that moment, except for getting to the injured woman.

Lizzie reached Rayne's side first, dropping to her knees; she didn't care if her clothes became dirty. Kay got there a moment later, and made her way to the other side of Rayne.

"Rayne? Sweetheart?" Lizzie whispered, brushing a lock of hair out of Rayne's eyes, not noticing (and not caring) about the horrified crowd that had drawn around them. Trip, looking pale, stood next to Lizzie and Kay, her own eyes wide with shock.

Rayne coughed, and looked upwards. "Lizzie?"

"Oh thank goodness." Lizzie sighed, taking Rayne's head and placing it in her lap.

"Kay?'

"I'm here mom. I'm here." Kay responded, grasping Rayne's hand within her own, shaking one. "You're going to be okay."

"I'm afraid not." Rayne said weakly, a trail of blood coming from her mouth. The dark red liquid slowly made its way down her neck.

"You will be fine, Rayne." Lizzie said frantically, tears forming in her eyes, "W-we'll get a healer...and you'll be alright..."

"I'm sorry Lizzie." Rayne said, shaking her head slowly as Twilly began to rush down the hill and fight to get through the crowd. "I'm afraid that these aren't magical paintballs..."

"Don't say thing like that, mom..." Kay sobbed, her own tears making tracks down her face.

"The truth can hurt, Kay." Rayne said, making Kay grin bitterly through her tears.

"Oh, Rayne." Lizzie bit her lip, stroking the woman's glossy, yet eternally slightly mussed dark hair.

"And...I guess I'm alright with it." Rayne stated. "I knew my time would come...I just wish that maybe, this would have come from different causes... and I wish that maybe I had more time."

"You will love, you will." Lizzie murmured, saying it to reassure herself more than for Rayne. "You just have to hold out a bit longer..."

Rayne looked up at Trip, with half-lidded eyes. "Trip?"

The brunette swallowed thickly, looking down at her dying friend. "Yeah, Rayne?" She asked, dropping to her knees.

"I want you to know...you've been a great friend to me, throughout the years."

"Thanks, Rayne." She smiled sadly, taking the hand that wasn't holding Kay's, and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me that..." Rayne's sentence was interrupted by a coughing fit. "Tell everyone how much they mean to me. Felix, Blaze, Maria, Gale...everyone. Tell them that I love them all, and that I'm gonna miss them."

"Of course." Trip whispered. Rayne nodded, and coughed again. The crimson blood came out of her mouth, more of it trickling down her neck, staining the flawless skin that was growing colder and less responsive by the moment.

"Kira?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you. And I wish that I could have watched you live the rest of your life."

"M-me too." Kay said, finally accepting what was happening.

"You're a great person. Remember that."

"I will, mom."

"Lizzie?"

"Yes Rayne?" Lizzie inquired, her voice chocked with emotion.

"I'll miss you the most."

"I..." Her voice tightened, but she swallowed, and forced it out. "I'll miss you as well.

"You've been so good to me throughout my life. You're my best friend, and the person who's given me the most strength through the years," Rayne pulled her hand out of Trip's, and used it to cup Lizzie's cheek. Lizzie turned her head and placed a light kiss on Rayne's palm.

"I cherish your love and friendship more than anyone else's Lizzie. Know that. And know that I..." Her voice faltered, and her eyelids grew even heavier. "I love you, Elizabeth Miura." I'll never stop."

"I love you too Rayne." Lizzie said again, leaning down and pressing a last kiss against Rayne's barely reciprocating mouth, ignoring the coppery taste of blood on her lover's lips. "I'll always love you, even past our lifetimes."

"Same here." Rayne whispered. With what little strength she had left, she squeezed Lizzie's and Kay's hands, and smiled.

Twilly broke through the stunned (and now mourning) crowd, a moment too late. For Rayne had died, a smile upon her face as she lay in the arms of her wife and child.

"Mom..." Kay sobbed, not bothering to wipe the tears that poured down her face.

"Rayne..." Trip breathed, struggling not to break down and cry right then.

The scientist began to panic, and dropped his gun. "I-it was an accident! I swear!" He yelled. Lizzie looked up at him. She stared at the Drakel, the face of the man who killed her Rayne forever imprinted into her mind. And a second later, she looked away from him, and cradled Rayne's still and bloody body in her arms. She let out an anguished cry.

"Please don't leave me..."

* * *

A few weeks later, Lizzie wore black for the first time in her life.

Previous to that day, she had never, ever even worn the shade before, and never planned to. To her it was 'a boring, moody colour' and 'more of Rayne's thing anyways.'

But now that Rayne was dead, she couldn't really have a thing, could she?

Lizzie stood in front of the open grave, covered in black from head to toe. The only things on her that weren't black was her hair, pale skin, and empty emerald green eyes.

All the people around her were wearing black as well. All were quiet and sombre, as Felix got up, and began to speak.

"I knew Rayne since she was a child, and let me tell you, she was as quiet and serious then as she was now."

A small chuckle was elicited from the crowd, and Felix continued on. Lizzie was oblivious. Felix finished, and Trip went up. Still, Lizzie stood, staring blindly.

People ended their words, and more people continued on, until everyone finished. As the men began to fill in the hole, Lizzie sill didn't react.

It was only when almost everyone was gone, that Lizzie finally did something. She kneeled in front of Rayne's grave, and read the new grave marker:

**RAYNE ANASI**

_**Determined warrior**_

_**Caring mother**_

_**Loving wife.**_

_**She will be missed.**_

She raised her hand, and began to trace her fingers through each of the letters of Rayne's name, over and over again. Nothing was said, and nothing was done, except the constant repeating motion.

**Rayne Anasi**

**Rayne Anasi**

Over and over again. A light hand on her arm stopped her from tracing the first 'A' on the last name. She looked up, and saw Kay, who looked oddly blurry.

Lizzie didn't realize she had started crying.

"Mama." Kay murmured, eyes red from her own tears. "Mama, we have to go home..."

Lizzie said nothing, but stood up, and walked back home with Kay.

Once she was back, Kay disappeared and came back with a cold plate of food in hand, and gave it to her mother. Had Lizzie been in a normal state, she would have laughed at the irony of it; usually, it was Lizzie giving Kay her meals.

Lizzie ate, but didn't taste the food in her mouth. When she had finished, along with Kay herself, it was quite dark. Kay made sure that when Lizzie had gone to bed that night, she was properly changed and prepared.

Kay forced a smile. "Good night." She said, before rushing off to her room so Lizzie wouldn't see her break down.

Lizzie didn't reply. She just lay awake, staring at the ceiling, until exhaustion overcame her.

That night, instead of cold sheets and emptiness in the bed, Lizzie felt the warmth of her lover's body surrounding her. Her dreams were filled with many happy things, but the moment she woke up, the memories she had of them left her as she remembered that the woman who had held her in her sleep was gone forever.

* * *

Days past, and each was the same. Be coaxed into eating by Kay, do whatever had to be done during the day, be coaxed into eating once more, and go to sleep. She never even left the house, except for twice a day.

The first time, she would go to Rayne's grave and trace the cuts in the stone over and over again, until someone came and led her home. Most days it would be Kay. Other times, it would be Trip, Aria, Gale, or any other of her friends. Once, it was even Riles. Lizzie had been taken off of active Guardian duty as well. The captain realized that she needed time to cope, and didn't want to pressure her until she was absolutely ready.

The second time she went out was to take a walk. She went before she would go to the grave site. Lizzie would walk around, usually in the forest, in a daze. Nothing bothered her, for she was usually within the Battleon boundary, but when she accidentally wandered out, Lizzie still wasn't harmed. Unknown to her, Robina shadowed her. The ranger was always out on patrol that time, and she did it out of sympathy. Lizzie was her friend too, and she didn't want anything else happening to Lizzie.

So Lizzie's days continued on like this. Until one day, when Robina caught cold, and couldn't do her daily patrol...

* * *

The forest. Lizzie loved the forest. Well...she did. Once. Before Rayne...

Still. Even now, she held some sort of attachment to it. It was one of the only places now that she felt...soothed. Almost alive.

Lizzie wandered onwards, not knowing where she was going, not particularly caring. Suddenly, she heard a noise. A guttural, strangled cry that Lizzie could signify stood for help. Slowly, she walked towards it. She came out of the forest, and up to a cliff where the sound was coming from. Peering over the edge, she saw it.

There was a Drakel man, hanging off of the rock ledge that looked as if it would break of at any time. The Drakel's head was scratched and bleeding, and there was noticeable dirt covering it. Lizzie foggily remembered Kay telling her about the new monsters that had recently taken up residence within the forest. They were something like oversized moles, and while they were harmless, they were pesky; they kept on creating giant tunnels that weakened the ground substantially. As well as the tunnels, there were cliffs that they created when surfacing, or digging down.

The Drakel looked up at the moment. He screamed something in his mother tongue, and Lizzie cocked her head to the side, and stared quizzically down at him. He took in a few quick, shallow breaths. "Help!" He said with difficulty.

Lizzie didn't move, and didn't answer. She waited, until the Drakel was about to fall. She leaned down, and the Drakel looked up into her cold, uncaring eyes. Lizzie spoke for the first time since Rayne's death.

"Never."

The Drakel fell, and Lizzie watched him. And as she watched him drop, Lizzie knew then what she had to do.

* * *

She waited until that night to put her new plan into action. She knew she had to make sure that Kay was asleep; otherwise her plan would never be set into action. Lizzie slept that night, but only for a few hours. She rose at midnight, and dressed quickly.

As quietly as possible, she packed as many of the necessities as needed. Grabbing her spare clothing and shoving them into her bag, she then headed down the stairs. As she moved, she paused at a single door. The door that lead to Kay's bedroom, in fact.

She looked at the door. She placed her hand on it, and her other hand reached for the knob, but she hesitated. She pulled her hand away slowly, and her eyes shut. She kept her hand on that door, before crouching down, and slipping something underneath it. As she stood back up again, her eyes opened, and they flickered with something, something that was like a mixture of sorrow, regret, and longing. Longing for times past, and what used to be.

But they only held such emotion for a moment.

She continued onwards, and made her way to the lower floor. Once there, she filled her bag with water, and what food she could carry without fear of spoiling. With her bag almost full, she rushed out of the house.

The next thing she knew, she was at a room in the Guardian tower. Striding around the room, she began to take various things that were inside of it.

The room used to be theirs, but when they moved out, they had converted the room as a sort of armoury for them and the others on the floor. Their armour and weapons – sans the standard issue armour and blades that they kept at the house- were all there.

She swept up a few weapons and attached them safely to her belt. With those weapons, was her special Sacred Staff.

She reached automatically next to the spot where she usually kept her staff. Instead of grasping onto a hilt, all that was there was thin air.

She looked at the spot, and scanned her eyes around the room for whatever was kept their. Alas, it wasn't to be found, and her quick visual search was in vain.

It seemed that the Holy Blade, just like its owner, was gone.

She stopped for this fact for only a moment, before she got to work again. She needed to finish soon.

Swiping some health and mana potions, she tucked them neatly into the bag. It was swelling now from its contents, but she knew it would hold. It had gone through wars, through battles, through disasters with her, and it always held. Much like-

She shook her head. She couldn't think about her now.

She double checked her bag, also making sure that she had gold on her. Everything was secure, and everything was ready to go. She also made sure that the special armour she had donned was fastened securely, and wouldn't fall off at any time. Satisfied, she thought-

_'Only one thing missing now.'_

She pulled one last item off of a hook on the wall. Turning it inside out, she draped it onto herself. With a satisfying click and a firm knot, it fastened around her neck.

She headed out of the dorms, and walked outside.

Dressed from head to toe in black, the moon shone its silvery light down on her. The pitch black armour she was wearing reflected the light back, with every step she took. And she walked, her lover's cloak upon her shoulders. Her steps never faltered.

Lizzie kept on walking until she was out of Battleon, never turning back for a last glance.

* * *

"GALE! TRIP!"

Gale looked away from the elder woman, and was hit by a blur, knocking her back into Trip.

"Oof! She grunted. Looking down, she frowned. "Kay?"

"Sh-she left." Kay sobbed.

"Who did?"

"Mom. When I woke up this morning, I found this." In her hand, she clutched a paper.

"Have you read it?"

Kay leaned her head against the breastplate of Gale's armour, and shook her head.

"Then how do you know she left? Maybe she just went out, and-"

Both Kay and Trip shook their heads.

"I know Gale." Kay said. "I just know."

Trip walked, not stumbling once, to Kay. Very gently, she took the paper from Kay's hand. Kay quieted her sobs, and trip began to read.

_My Dearest Kira,_

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've left without telling you, but it had to be done. You would have tried to stop me, and we can't have that,_

_I've left for a reason, Kay. A reason for which you can't know of, but you will learn soon._

_Kay, please don't try to find me. You have so much to live for, and you can't waste your life on mine._

_I haven't been much of a mother lately, but know this Kay; I love you. Tell everyone else that as well. Though I probably will never again come to Battleon, I will always remember it. The town, and all its residents, especially you and my friend, will be in my heart._

_Goodbye,_

_Elizabeth Miura-Anasi._

_P.S – Tell Captain Krieger that I've resigned, and went to travel._

_P.P.S – Tell him I'm sorry for kicking him those times._

_-_

Kay let out another cry, and Gale began to soothe Kay once more. Trip sighed, and ran a hand through her short brown hair,

"I knew this would happen, sooner or later." She mumbled, closing her eyes,

Both Gala and Kay looked at the brunette. "What?"

"Lizzie believed strongly in justice. Sometimes, though, it takes her a while to figure out what she has to do for what she believes is justice. I knew; don't ask me how, that she would leave eventually." Trip smiled ruefully, eyes still shut.

"She could be as stubborn as Rayne sometimes. I'm afraid we can't do anything now. She's made her decision, and we can't do anything."

"Are you crazy?" Gale asked, staring at trip as if she had five heads. "We have to find her!"

"There's no point. You saw her letter; you saw what she wrote, and-"

"How can you say that? I thought you were her friend! If you really were, you'd go after her and not just be as aloof and carefree as you are right now!" Kay yelled.

"It only looks like that Kay." Trip sighed once more.

Kay was confused. "What?"

Trip opened her eyes, and Kay was surprised to see that tears were swimming in her sapphire eyes.

"Kay, it's hurting me just as much as it's hurting you." She whispered. "I've just lost two of my best friends; the kind of friend that you expect to have for life. I've had them for years and years, and we've been together through so much. Those two were...are...some of the most important people in my life. And I'll let you know now, that as Lizzie's lifelong friend, I'll do what she asks, and not go after her."

"Gale, I'd advise you not to go after her either. She has to do whatever she's going to do alone. There is a very slim chance of you finding her if she doesn't want to be found."

Kay finally saw the reason in Trip's words, and nodded slowly.

Finding the reason didn't stop Kay from crying though. And she did just that, as she was pulled out of Gale's embrace and into Trip's.

As both women cried over the loss of loved ones, Gale stood to the side, watching helplessly as her hands –as well as her heart- clenched and unclenched.

Gale couldn't help but wonder how she was ever going to piece Kay's shattered self back together.

* * *

So, that's part 1 of chapter one. It was getting kinda big, so I'm splitting this up. I hope you enjoyed, and please review!

Oh, and good job on the latest chapter of 'As Time Goes By', Xenolord.


	3. The Beginning, part II

**First year part II**

**This is the continued part from part I.  
**

**Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, and Lionius in this chapter. All others, I don't own.**

* * *

Lionius Za'Ha looked up at the quickly darkening sky. Raising a clawed hand, the troop behind him stopped immediately.

"We'll rest here for tonight." He announced, pointing to the place they were to bed. It was an old, stone building, probably used as an old warehouse or something of the sorts. The four walls of the building were still intact, but only barely. Parts of the wall were crumbling; others had already broken. There was one entrance, and no roof; that didn't matter to these people, however.

They were mercenaries. Drakel mercenaries. And highly efficient ones at that. Time and time again, their services had been useful and reliable to anyone who had hired them. They were well valued, and well paid by anyone. Every single member of the mercenaries was well trained- strong, and clever. Well, not all of them.

But none of these traits fit any one of them better than their leader, Lionius. He had founded the Za'Ha mercenaries, as they were called, and he planned to lead all of them into every battle they fought, until the day that he died.

Which would come sooner than he thought.

* * *

When the men had all finished their meals, Lionius cleared his throat and called out,

"Ren! Xar!"

The two named men immediately left what they were doing, and went to their leader. "Yes chief?" They asked.

"I want you to stand guard tonight." He said gruffly, crossing his arms.

Xar's face fell slightly, but Ran nodded. "Sure, chief."

Lionius grinned. "Good. Don't fall asleep; who knows what there might be lurking out there. They'll come and get you."

"And," He added, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper, as he began to glare at them,

"If whatever's out there doesn't get you; then I will."

Xar gulped, and Ran nodded once more, fear evident in both their eyes. "Yes, chief."

* * *

Xar grimaced as he took his post, lance clutched firmly in hand.

"Don't know why the chief always picks us to do night watch." He grumbled.

Ran looked annoyed at his comrade's behaviour. "We don't always get chosen, Xar. Plus, you should be happy that the chief picked us. It means that he trusts us enough to watch over the rest of them while they sleep."

Xar snorted. "I'd be happier if I could get a full night's rest for once. Besides, we're always constantly on guard, and you know that nothing ever happens. This whole night watch thing is just to satisfy the chief's paranoia, and I'd say it's pretty much-"

A twig snapped suddenly. Xar tightened his hold on his lance, and Ren put a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Stay here." Ran muttered. He drew his blade, and held it at the ready. Slowly, he left Xar's view and crept towards the noise.

After about an hour or so, Ran hadn't returned, and Xar was starting to become anxious. Holding his lance, he crept away from the entrance of the building, and went in the direction he saw the other male go off in.

Xar went along for a few minutes, when the sight of Ran came along. Ran seemed to be sitting underneath a tree, slumped over. His sword was dug into the ground beside him.

"There you are!" Xar exclaimed, running over to his fellow mercenary. "Honestly, you complain about me wanting to sleep, and here you are..."

Xar trailed off. Ran was a light sleeper- he would have woken up by now, with Xar babbling on like that. He shook Ran gently. "Ran?"

No answer. He shook Ran a little harder this time.

"Ran?"

Still none.

Xar dropped his lance on the ground, knelt, and shook Ran with both hands, one placed on each shoulder. "Ran! Answer me! This isn't funny!"

Once again, there was no answer, but Xar had shook Ran hard enough that he had shifted the man's position. Ran's head had lolled over to the side, and Xar could see that something was different about his friend's neck. Leaning in, he squinted at it. The moon, which had been hidden by the clouds until then, suddenly shone again. Xar's eyes widened, as he saw what was wrong.

Ran's throat had been slit.

Xar's vision trailed down, and he saw the blood covering Ran's tunic and armour. With horror, the mercenary realized that the ground surrounding him, and Ran's body was soaked with his blood. Xar was about to hear a jump to his feet, when her heard a thump behind him. Before Xar realized it, someone grabbed him, and pressed something cool and sharp to his neck.

The next thing he knew, it wasn't just Ran's blood covering him.

Lizzie released the dying drakel on the ground. In one hand she held a dagger. Still wet with the blood of its two victims, it gleamed menacingly in the moonlight. Making sure that the light had faded from Xar's eyes, she left, striding towards where the other men were resting for the night.

Once she was at the entrance, she took a quick look inside. Counting them, she estimated that there were about fifteen to twenty of them inside. All the better for Lizzie; it only meant that more of them would pay.

Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a scroll. Unfurling it with one hand, she began to murmur the ancient script upon it. She backed up, and held up the bloodied dagger. It began to glow, once she finished the incantation. And as the glow brightened, Lionius began to stir.

Raising his head, he stared at the light. The light suddenly flashed, and it flew towards him. There was a sudden wave of intense heat and excruciating pain, and Lionius had to close his eyes. He opened them again with extreme difficulty, and his eyes widened.

The building was now painted red, orange, yellow and scarlet from the flames that now engulfed it. Looking around as best as he could, Lionius realized that everyone- every, single person, save himself- was now most likely dead. They had all been burnt to a crisp. Lionius felt sick. So many of his men...so many of his comrades, now dead. So many lives ended too soon. Looking down at himself, he saw that his own body was badly burnt, and his armour, weapons, and most importantly, his healing potions were now all destroyed. He gazed back to the source of all of this, and that's when he saw it.

Dressed in all black, Lizzie appeared through the flames. She walked to Lionius slowly, not rushing herself. _'Let him suffer.'_ She thought.

When she reached him, she simply stood over his mangled body. Lionius struggled to crawl away, but realized that he was paralyzed. He couldn't move anything, except for his eyes. All he could really do, was watch as Lizzie brought up her dagger. She looked down on him, and flipped the dagger so that the tip of the blade was pointing downwards. Raising it up slowly Lionius stared into the shrouded face of the person who was going to kill him.

He had but one thought as he caught sight of her eyes. And then he was struck thoughtless, as Lizzie let the dagger drop, right into his chest.

She retracted it after a minute, twisting it ever so slightly to cause Lionius more pain. It came out with a loud squelch, as it was now once again wet, the entire blade dripping with the blood of its third kill.

Lizzie didn't react to the scene around her; bright fire, surrounding the burnt corpses. She didn't flinch, she didn't gasp in realization at what she had done. She didn't even care. All she did was turn around, and walk back to the entrance, which was being blocked by the flames by now. When she reached the fire, she touched something, hanging around her neck by a chain, and a shield immediately formed around her.

When Lizzie was through, she fingered Rayne's ring, before letting it drop and hang around her neck again.

* * *

"Faster!" The man yelled. The inhabitants of the nearby village all strived to up their pace. They handed down buckets of water, throwing them onto the fire, and refilling them. What few mages there were had come as well, casting water spells to put out the fire. It was the middle of the night, and some of the people were still wearing bed clothes.

Eventually, they manage to put out part of the fire, the man who had yelled out 'Faster!' earlier, along with a few other people, rushed past the flames, into the fire.

They were surprised o see all of the bodies that littered the stone floor. They were even more surprised, when they heard a groan, so soft that they could barely hear it over the crackle of the blaze.

The man rushed to the source of the noise, hoping that whatever it happened to be, was still alive. Reaching it, he saw that it was a male drakel. The man saw that he was still alive...but only barely.

Lionius was badly burnt, and almost unrecognizable from what he used to look like. Along with that, the man could see that he was lying in a pool of his own, heated blood. Lionius was struggling to keep on breathing, but the smoke around him wasn't helping; it was taking up what little, precious oxygen he could get.

"What happened?" The man asked the injured drakel.

"Came...building...fire.." Lionius gasped.

"Who did?" The man asked frantically. He could already see that Lionius' life was slipping away from him.

"Don't...know..."

"What did they look like?" The man shouted. Lionius didn't have much time left. Lionius closed his eyes, before taking his final breath, and forcing out one last sentence.

"Wore black... looked like.... a Mourner..."

-


	4. The Mourner

**Second year**

This fic is based on the lines from Xenolord's story, As Time Goes By, which states-

_"Rayne... All I remember of Rayne is how she died. It was the stupidest thing you'd ever think, and you won't believe me when I tell you... but she was killed in a freak accident when a Drakel scientist was showing the people of Battleon how to use guns. I guess those bullets gotta come down somewhere..._

_"Lizzie was shattered with Rayne's death, and went on a five year rampage throughout Drakel lands, killing c__ountless of them, __trying to bring Rayne back. She blamed the Drakel for Rayne's death... and I suppose in a sick way, she was right. Her blood rage was finally ended when she was brought before the Drakel courts in their Super City of Ren-Tiak, found guilty and executed. If that wasn't enough, they hung her corpse outside the city for all to see... She was such a sweet little girl..."_

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, and Kay. Xenolord owns Gale. Kind of. All others mentioned in this chapter do not belong to me.

* * *

After that, the deaths started.

They weren't that noticeable at first. Just a few kills reported, every week. But then they began to grow. More and more kills were made, in larger numbers too. Suddenly, the deaths weren't deaths anymore- they were massacres. Tons of people, dead, sometimes a few, sometimes too many to count. Word began to spread about the gruesome murders. And along with the massacres, came the name that the people had began to call the killer, whispered from ear to ear.

The Mourner.

The Mourner would kill at any time. It didn't matter if it was day or night. He (people assumed he was a he) would strike, leaving the corpses of his victims as the only clue that he had been there. But that was the part that confused civilians and authorities alike. The bodies.

The mourner only killed drakel. Every single one of her victims belonged to the race. And nobody knew why, except for the Mourner herself.

* * *

The blade slashed left, felling another Drakel.

"It's The Mourner!" One screamed, dropping his weapon and turning to flee. The leader of the group (a traveling band of people, only a few trained in combat) grabbed him by the shoulder, and glared.

"Son, we're not going to give into him. We'll stand up to that damned Mourner and defend ourselves, or we'll die trying!" The man nodded hesitantly, picked up his weapon, running at Lizzie. She killed him before he even saw her. Lizzie didn't focus on the battle at hand. She killed automatically, not even bothering to make sure that they were dead. She was too busy thinking.

_'__Let them__.'_ She carelessly chopped a drakel's head in two. Its body lifeless fell to the ground with a deafening thump. Its innards splattered on the dirt. The remains of its face had the sensation of distress but none of it matter to her. _"They deserve it..."_

_"They deserve to die__'_ Another one foolishly came at her but with failed attempt. A stab to the stomach and that one collapsed on the ground, gasping for life but not succeeding. A pool of dark blood grew and soaked into the ground, the body now dull.

_"These…these…vile things took her life and now I'll end theirs…"_ Everything seemed slow to her eyes. Was it because she was too fast? Or they were too slow? She couldn't tell…Slashing at one, it fell, then chopping at another. Soon a growing number of lifeless forms were scattered on the ground, their life source fading quickly every time they hit the ground. Dark patches of blood sprinkled the now tainted earth. She lounged and stabbed until only one stood desperately trying to run away…But with no triumph.

She was in front of it now. Staring at its alarmed face, it slowly lowered to its knees and pleaded with words she couldn't hear. Raising her sword high she coldly swung it down into the grove of its neck. Its head rolled motionless to a bush as the body swayed forward. She was done…her sword wet and dripping with blood. _'I'll kill them all.'_

Lizzie turned to leave. Her work was done, for now. There was no point in staying. Taking a few steps forward, she stiffened, as she heard something. It was faint, but she knew exactly what it was.

It was the pounding of feet and hooves against the ground.

Lizzie ran into the forest that she was next to. The woods would help slow down the horses, but the people on foot wouldn't be thrown off. She needed to put as much space as possible between her, and her pursuers.

She ran, weaving and bobbing through the maze of trees. Every now and then she would stop, hiding behind a tree, and look behind her to gage how close her followers were. Every now and then, she would speed up, when she would catch occasional glimpses of whoever it was. But most of the time, all she heard was their footsteps.

When those footsteps finally faded away, and Lizzie was satisfied at how they were, she slowed down. The woman readjusted the dark hood of the cloak, flipping it up so it covered her head and gave her shade. Closing her eyes, she began to steady her somewhat shaky breathing, all the while mentally chastising herself.

She should have seen that it was a trap. It was too obvious, and those drakel. They seemed expecting. Like they knew that she would be there, and they would readily give up their lives. She was ignorant, and she didn't pay attention.

_'Guess you were right, love_.' Lizzie thought, a bitter smile gracing her lips. _'I really should always pay attention to my surroundings. I didn't, and look what my inattentiveness has nearly cost me. I'm not done what I have to do yet.' _

The redhead opened her eyes, and exhaled a breath that she didn't realize she had been holding. There was no time to waste now.

She had to move before whoever was chasing her caught up. Not that they ever would. The forest, she could tell, was a large place, and by the time that they would reach the clearing in which she stood in, the Mourner would be long gone, with no trace for them to follow. They wouldn't be able to cover that much ground in such little time. Not unless they had-

A sudden gust of air, and a burst of bright light startled Lizzie. Her eyes widened, as she realized what it was. She moved to get away from the portal, but before she could, a voice came from it. "I've got you now!"

And before Lizzie knew it, she was tackled. An armour clad person was straddling her, pinning both hands to the ground.

"You're not going to get away from me, Mourner." The person sneered. Lizzie noted something about the person on top of her. She could tell that it was a female, from the voice. But there was something else about the voice as well. Something familiar. Lizzie felt as if she had heard it before; she just couldn't place it. She couldn't see her attacker either for when they tackled her, they managed to hitch her cloak up over her eyes, blocking her eyesight.

Lizzie couldn't think about those things now.. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

With almost no effort, Lizzie managed to reverse their positions. The redhead still couldn't see, forcing her to rely on her other senses. She felt whoever it was throw her off. Lizzie landed hard, but managed to recover quickly, getting back up on her feet within a few seconds. Grasping a hand around the hilt of her sword, she drew it out of its sheath, hearing her opponent doing the same.

Focusing on her other senses, Lizzie anticipated the woman's attack, and blocked it successfully. Lizzie was surprised again by the stranger, as they attacked again. The voice, the swordplay...it was all so familiar. And yet, she couldn't remember why.

Lizzie managed to block or evade every blow that came her way. The other woman was much the same, blocking and returning every swing.

The female attacked again, and Lizzie dodged it. Neither of them could land a hit; they were equally matched. Both The Mourner and her opponents swords clashed, and they fought to overpower the other.

Eventually, they were forced to back off. Gaining a momentary reprieve, Lizzie tugged her cloak back to its normal position, finally catching a glimpse of her assailant. She was wearing a cloak, somewhat like Lizzie's, but hers was green, instead of black. Lizzie supposed it was for camouflage. Her hood was up, and she was panting slightly, also like Lizzie, This surprised the woman. It had been a while since she had been breathless due to a fight; most of the people she attacked were all dead before she could even break a sweat.

The other person moved, flicking the wrist of her sword arm. The shift in her stance caused her upper body to move, just a bit. A lock of hair came loose, and hung out of the hood. Lizzie almost gasped, as she saw the hair. She relaxed the grip on her sword, and brought it to her side, sheathing it.

"Gale?" She asked, her voice hoarse from over a year of not being used.

The other woman, about to attack again, froze at the name. Her sword fell from her hand, thudding softly against the plants and the earth,

"Lizzie?"

Both lowered their hoods, and Lizzie saw that it was Gale. Despite looking a bit older and more battle-worn, she was still the same Gale with the stormy grey eyes and dyed green hair.

Gale rushed at Lizzie again, but instead of tackling her, she hugged Lizzie, as hard as she could.

"How did you know it was me?" Gale asked.

Lizzie, voice still somewhat harsh, cleared her throat. "Your fighting style and voice were tipping me off. Then I saw your hair. No one- save you and Maria- have that hair colour."

Gale looked confused. "I can understand the hair and voice, but the fighting? We've never fought, or sparred before."

"We haven't." Lizzie said, "But Maria and I have, back in Battleon. And I suppose that she helped you hone your skills. You fight a lot like her, you know. "

Gale chuckled mirthlessly. "Speaking of Battleon, things have definitely changed since you left, Mrs. Anasi." Same Gale alright; only in certain moments would Gale ever address her by her nickname, even though Lizzie had often said it was alright.

"Mrs. Anasi..." Lizzie murmured, as Gale released her and stepped back. "It's been so long since anyone has called me that."

"Well, you've been gone for little more than a year." Gale pointed out, grinning. She realized what she had said, and the grin slid off her face.

"Mrs. Anasi...Mrs. Anasi, you have to come back." Gale said.

Lizzie said nothing.

"Mrs. Anasi, they're looking for you. Well, The Mourner. You've been declared a threat by the drakel leaders, and a murderer. A special group- not just made up of drakel, Guardians have been sent as well- has been sent out to hunt you down.

Still no answer.

"Ms. Anasi, please! No one has any idea that you might be The Mourner! You have to stop. You can't let Kay see you like this, she'll-"

"Kay is here?" Lizzie interrupted

Gale stiffened up, and began to beat her forehead with her palm. "Stupid, stupid, stupid me, I shouldn't have said anything..."

Lizzie's voice lowered to an almost whisper, and took on an icy, serious tone. "Is she here?"

Gale sighed, and nodded.

"Why."

It sounded more like a command than a question, and Gale new that she had no choice but to answer.

"When you left...Kay enlisted as a knight."

"But she hates violence..."

"I know." Gale said.

"Ever since she joined, she's been rising through the ranks like crazy. Eventually, she became so well respected and honoured by the king and the others that she was made the new commander of the Pria Knights. And eventually..."

Gale trailed off, but Lizzie understood. It had been the same with Rayne and herself. Usually, a few of the highest ranking knights would be accepted as a Guardian. So if Kay was the new commander, which would have meant that, she would have become a Guardian herself.

"And as luck would have it, Kay was one of the Guardians, along with me and two others, who were chosen to become part of the squad that's been assigned to capture you." Gale looked somber, as Lizzie took in the information.

"I don't understand why she would become a knight..." Lizzie mused. Gale shrugged.

"I've been asking myself that same question." Gale walked back over to where her sword lay. She picked it up, brushed off the dirt that had been on it, and turned back to Lizzie.

"I believe it's a sort of release for her. I think she's venting her emotion, and what she feels from loosing Rayne, and from you running away, into fighting, and doing something that's in her blood."

"And you running away is yet another reason why you should give up your life as ''The Mourner', Mrs. Anasi. Kay needs you, more than anyone else right now."

Lizzie closed her eyes, and lowered her head. "I'm sorry, Gale."

" I- haven't you listened to what I said?" Gale spluttered.

"I have. And I know what you're going to tell me Gale. I know you better than you think I do. I'll tell you right now, that what I'm doing right now is for a reason. And no matter what you say, or what you do, you're not going to change my mind."

"But-"

"No buts, Gale." Lizzie said firmly. Gale sighed, and scratched the back of her head.

"Are you sure that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change your mind?"

Lizzie shook her head. "No. And Gale...I'm afraid that if you try to get in my way..." Lizzie placed her hand on the hilt of her sword again, shifting subtly into a fighting stance. "Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you down."

Gale didn't look surprised. "You really are stubborn." Gale murmured, running g a hand through her dyed locks. The corner of Lizzie's mouth twitched in an almost smile.

Suddenly, the pounding of feet had returned. Gale's eyes widened and she looked towards the source of the noise. "You have to get out of here. Fast." She reached a hand into her cloak, and pulled out something. She tossed it to Lizzie. The redhead looked down at the portal-com that was now cradled in her hands.

"Gale..."

"Go!" Gale cried. She ran to Lizzie and used the device she cradled in her hands to open up a portal, before strapping it onto the elder woman's wrist.

"You can't finish whatever it is you have to do if you're caught here!"

Lizzie nodded slowly. She grasped her hood, and pulled it back on. She turned to the portal, and ran into it, not looking back. The portal disappeared a moment later.

Just in time too- for at that moment, someone else stumbled into the clearing. She wore a green cloak, just like Gale's. Her hood was down; she had orange hair, a shade lighter than Lizzie's, and amethyst eyes that seemed emerald at times.

"Did you manage to get the Mourner Gale?" Kay Anasi asked.

Gale hesitated for a second, and then shook her head no. "I didn't see him anywhere. I actually just got here; kind of overshot my guess, and went too far."

Kay smiled grimly, then walked up to Gale and hugged her. It was awkward, due to the armour that covered both their bodies.

"Don't worry, Nightingale." She said. Gale had to fight to not flinch at the use of her nickname; it felt wrong for Kay to call her that after what had just occurred.

"We'll get the Mourner someday." She said encouragingly. "Let's search some more, then go back to base."

Gale pushed back the rising urge to confess, swallowed, and nodded.

"Sure."

And so they searched, Kay focusing on searching for the Mourner, and Gale, wondering if she had made the right decision.

-


	5. The Memories

**The Memories**

So, this is the 3rd chapter. It's a bit happier, and fluffier than the past few chapters. Rayne's birthday occurs in the winter, on what would be February 9th in AQ. same as mine. Yup, my birthday was last week. So, with that said, I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own Rayne, and Lizzie. All others do not belong to me.

_Italics_, means she's having a flashback.

* * *

Another year had past.

For three years now, the Mourner had been wandering around Lore, slaying drakel left and right, whether they were but peasants, traveling alone, or the rich and the warriors, traveling in bands. It didn't matter; they were killed either way.

Many had begun fearing for their lives, and went into hiding, hoping to escape a bloody death. Due to that, the numbers of kills were lessening, but only slightly so. That wasn't the only thing that had changed though. Instead of seeming to attack one place, and move to another, still somewhat close area, the Mourner was somehow now attacking and appearing all over Lore. The squad that was trailing her were trying to keep up, but were having very little luck. Since their first meeting in the forest, Lizzie had had only a few brushes with the team. Other than Gale, she had seen no other members.

As said earlier, the numbers of kills were going down. Not even during the holiday's, both drakel and human, were spared from the news of another slaying. Every week, there was a report of another kill.

Except for one week. It was the week before Snugglefest. No one knew why the Mourner had not struck, except for one person...

* * *

The markets were busy, as usual. It was filled with the sounds of loud shouts about the special deals and prices, the low, demanding barks of haggling and trading, and the squawks and calls of animals and livestock being sold. But above all of that, was the sound of music. In fact, an entire group of musicians were playing. There was a whole group of instruments too. The most distinguishable being a flute.

The entire group (that a crowd was now drawing around) was playing around the stand. Most likely, the owner had decided to pay them to advertise his instruments. And it was working, to some extent. The people were now listening to the music, and examining his wares. Only one, however, had purchased so far.

"Thank you ma'am." The shopkeeper said, a grin spreading across his face as he placed his gold into his pockets. The purchaser just nodded, and continued on her way. She paused to watch the band. Not the entire group though- just one person. A young woman, probably in her late teens, with dark hair, who was playing the flute.

As she watched, memories began to flood back into her mind.

* * *

_"Why am I doing this again?"__ A teenage Lizzie asked, twisting an orange lock of hair around her finger,_

_Rayne sighed. "Someone, I believe it was either Trip or Felix, signed us up for musical instrument lessons."_

_"And...__Why__ are you getting out of this again?"_

_"Too busy." Rayne grinned sheepishly._

_It was Lizzie's turn to roll her eyes. "Doing what?"_

_"You forget that as well as a Guardian, I still have my duties in Rendd as second-in-command back in Rendd." Rayne said. _

_Lizzie simply huffed. "I'm a high-ranking knight as well Rayne."_

_Rayne's smile turned into a look of discomfort. "But you aren't the one being sent off as a delegate." She muttered, hoping Lizzie wouldn't here her. But, of course, she did._

_"What!?" Lizzie yelled, bolting into an upright position. Both of __them were sitting in a large maple tree, planted within the forest boundary. It was a place that they both enjoyed going to, even at that time in the winter. Rayne winced. "Please don't yell."_

_"I have every right to yell!" Lizzie said indignantly, her eyes blazing. "You didn't tell me you were being sent away!"_

_"I just learned this very recently." Rayne protested. Lizzie just scowled._

_"Great. Just great. So now I'm stuck doing these music lessons, and you'll be off in..." She trailed off. "Where will you be, anyways?"_

_"The king wants Sir Tathlin and __me__ to sign a treaty with a neighbouring kingdom." Rayne explained. She hadn't even finished her last word when Lizzie jumped back into her rant,_

_"In a neighbouring kingdom!" She finished, crossing her arms and looking away. Rayne chuckled in spite of herself, and scooted closer to Lizzie, enveloping the redhead in her arms._

_"You've still got everyone else to keep you company." She reasoned, positioning Lizzie so that her own chin rested on top of Lizzie's head.__ Lizzie sighed, and leaned back into Rayne, careful not to put so much weight on her that they would fall out of the tree._

_"I know." She said. "But your birthday is coming up soon, and we should do something, you know? And now it can't happen, because you know how long it takes to get from Battleon to Rendd__ and back. That's about two week's__ worth of traveling, even by horse, and it'll probably be longer because of this snow."_

_"It's alright." Rayne said. "You really don't have to do anything."_

_Lizzie tilted her head back, and raised her eyes, meeting Rayne's gaze."But I wanted to." She murmured._

_Rayne heart melted as she saw the sincerity and sadness in Lizzie's eyes. "Well, __if__ you really want to do something for me that bad..." She began to grin again. "Learn to play a song for me on your instrument then, alright?"_

_Lizzie smiled back at Rayne. Tilting her head back once again, she grasped Rayne's head with her hands and gently pulled her down, twisting her head in a way so that their lips met in an almost upside down kiss. "Okay." She whispered._

* * *

Her train of thought was broken as the music stopped. The flutist bowed politely to all who were watching, as they clapped, gold coins glinting as they were tossed through the air and into a basket set in front of them.

They started a new song- a song that rang in Lizzie's ear and mind. It was familiar- very familiar. Lizzie let herself become lost once again, in the music and memories.

* * *

_Lizzie exhaled her breath, which was visible in the winter air. It had been two weeks since Rayne had left for the other kingdom. She had promised that she would try to get back on her birthday – that very day- but it looked like that promise would have to be broken. It was already sundown, and Rayne still wasn't back._

_Lizzie hugged her knees to her chest, trying to keep warm. She sat outside, in their tree. It gave her better view, and helped her relax. While the cold bit at her face and hands, she was willing to endure it, choosing the soothing comfort of the tree rather than the warmth of the indoors._

_She sighed, and dropped her legs so they hung over the side of the branch she sat on. Lizzie placed her hand on either side of herself, gripping the snowy bark, leaning backwards and closing her eyes. At that moment, there was a loud whoosh, and a burst of light that she could see underneath her eyelids. Her eyes snapped open in surprise._

_Losing__ her grip on the tree, Lizzie fell backwards__. Instead of feeling the pain on impact, however, something- or rather, someone- blocked her fall._

_"Oof!"_

_"Sorry!" Lizzie cried, cheeks immediately flushing red._

_"It's alright..." The person groaned._

_Lizzie immediately recognized the voice, and looked down, breaking into a wide grin. "Rayne!"_

_Rayne looked up from underneath Lizzie. "Hi Liz." She said__, tapping her fingers on the ground in front of her face__. "__Uh...would you mind...__?"__ She let the sentence hang, and Lizzie once again flushed. "Oh! Right, sorry."_

_She rolled off of Rayne. When the brunette sat up, Lizzie threw her arms around her neck, promptly knocking Rayne to the ground once again. Rayne sighed inwardly, and smiled faintly up at Lizzie. The redhead was now on top of Rayne, their noses almost touching._

_"Hi." Lizzie giggled, her spirits now considerably lightened._

_"Hi." Rayne greeted back._

_Lizzie's eyes softened. She tucked a couple of loose strands of dark hair behind Rayne's ear. "I missed you." She murmured._

_"I missed you too." Rayne returned. Their eyes remained locked, and unblinking. They knew exactly what the other was saying, without having to say a word._

_Lizzie got up, pulling Rayne and herself to their feet. Lizzie scrambled to get back up in the tree, with Rayne following suit. She scooted to the side, letting Rayne come up and sit in the junction where the branch extended from the trunk. Once the brunette was in place, Liz__zie slid back down, so she sat __pressed up against the young knight._

_Lizzie laid her head on Rayne's shoulder. The cold wasn't so bad anymore now that Rayne was back, as clichéd as that may sound. She listened to the wind blowing around them, the light rustling__ and scratching of bark against clothing, and their even, tandem breathing._

_"How did you get back so fast?" Lizzie asked._

_"I used a portal."_

_"You pardon?" Lizzie peered up at Rayne. _

_"I used a portal." She repeated, twisting her head to look down at the shorter teen._

_"And how, pray tell, did you do that?"_

_"With this." Rayne held out her wrist. Lizzie looked at the __watch like device strapped to her wrist. "It's a portal-com." She explained. She fiddled with a few buttons on the side. "You see?" She said. "If I press this one button here, then I can communicate with others with this. And if I use this-"She twisted the knob on the side. "-It creates a portal." Sure enough, a light blue oval of energy had appeared._

_"How did you get this?" Lizzie asked, pulling Rayne's wrist closer towards herself and getting a closer up view._

_"I made it." Rayne said proudly. Her voice softened, and she looked away, looking much like the shy girl she was when Lizzie first met her. "I made it because I didn't want to be home late for whatever I knew you had planned for me today, even if I didn't make it home in time."_

_"That has to be the oddest thing you've ever done to show your affection." Lizzie proclaimed. Even so, she pressed a kiss against Rayne's cheek. "You're so weird."_

_"You love it."_

_"I know." Lizzie said, smiling. "Now, let's go inside. I've got your presents waiting for you..."_

* * *

The music stopped again, and Lizzie's thoughts along with it. She brought her hands up, and clapped as the dark-haired flute player. And the rest of the musicians, stopped to take a bow. More coins were being dropped into the basket, but Lizzie didn't join in. She turned and continued on her way. Soon, she was in a different part of the market; but instead of focusing on the sounds, she focused on the smells. There were many different ones, each unique and powerful in its own way. There was the smell of meat, rich and smoky. Just the scent could make someone's mouth water. There was also the scent of herbs and produce. Some cool and clean, some spicy and fragrant. Along with those, there was the smell of dust, metal, and leather, coming from the other stalls and shops that sold other kinds of items- weapons, armour, clothing- and the ground, where with every step anyone took on the unpaved streets, a cloud of dust would come up.

Much like the sounds, some were stronger than over. One of the most prominent, being a sweet one. Not overly so, and not the kind of sweet scent from sugar or candy. It was duller, a more natural one, one that could only come from natural creations. Along with the sweetness, however, was a definite tangy scent. It blended with the sweetness, creating an utterly unique aroma. AT that moment, Lizzie was buying exactly what was causing that scent.

"Come again!" The vender exclaimed, handing Lizzie her bag and a few pieces of gold. Just like she had before, Lizzie didn't say anything, just nodded and took what was being held out to her. The bag that her purchases were being kept in smelled faintly of what was inside of it, and Lizzie was drawn into memories for the 3rd time that day.

* * *

_"Hey Rayney." Lizzie greeted. Plopping down next to the said teen. Rayne closed the book she had been reading, and nodded. "Hi Liz."_

_"How did everything go?" The taller girl asked, turning her eyes towards Lizzie. She simply shrugged. "It went pretty well. It wasn't that big of a deal, really- I don't know what all the fuss was about.__ Sometimes people are incredibly silly, freaking out about every day commonplace issues.__"_

_Rayne arched an eyebrow. "You call, 'my neighbour slept with my prize winning cow' a commonplace issue?"_

_"You know what I mean." Lizzie replied, swatting Rayne lightly on the arm, ta__king a seat next to her. They were in Rayne's room in the dorms. "That was something they could have solved by themselves."_

_"Well, I don't know about that Lizzie." Rayne said innocently, looking at her girl with a completely straight face as she said her next words. _

_"Dealing with bovine intercourse can be a very tricky business."_

_Lizzie couldn't help but burst into __laughter__ and Rayne couldn't help but smile an all-too rare smile, one that became less rare whenever the redhead was in the vicinity._

_"I believe you." Lizzie giggled. "I just wish that it hadn't taken so long to sort it out. I wanted to spend some more time with you, since you're leaving in a few days and whatnot."_

_"I'll be back in two weeks love." Rayne said. "Hopefully by my birthday."_

_"I know." Lizzie sighed. "But I miss you whenever you're not around." She admitted, making Rayne smile again, and pull Lizzie into her lap._

_"That's an incredibly cheesy line, Ms. Miura."_

_"I like cheese." Lizzie grinned; waggling her eyebrows in such a comical manner that Rayne had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud.__ Rayne wrapped her arms around Lizzie, pulling her closer, as she placed a light kiss on the crown of her head. "Dork."_

_"I'm your dork." The redhead murmured, burying her face into the crook of Rayne's neck, taking in the scent of bathing soaps (Rayne washed daily, unlike other people at the time) mint, and the uniquely Rayne scent. It was clean, refreshing, and it smelled something like the rain itself. Lizzie sighed happily. As odd as it sounded, she could never get enough of that smell. Speaking of smells..._

_"Oh!" Lizzie exclaimed, hopping out of Rayne's lap. "I just remembered!" Rayne looked bemused as Lizzie reached into her old pack. Her hand touched whatever she was looking for, and she looked at Rayne. "Close your eyes." She instructed._

_Rayne gave her a puzzled stare, but did as she was told. She heard a rustle of something, and the tap of feet against the floor as Lizzie walked back to her. There was a sound, which was something similar to ripping. The dark-haired woman felt something being put in front of her face._

_"Smell." Lizzie commanded. Rayne's nose almost twitched as she sniffed whatever it was. It was sweet, sour, and something that couldn't be described. "It smells great." Rayne mused, taking another lungful of whatever it was. "What is it?"_

_She opened her eyes, hoping to c__atch a glimpse of whatever the delectable scent was coming from. She was too slow though- instead of seeing it, all she saw was Lizzie chewing something, one hand stuffed into a bag. She swallowed, and smirked. "You'll know on your birthday."_

_"Lizzie...can't you tell me what it was now?"_

_Lizzie licked her lips and smiled. "Consider it initiative for you to get home faster." She teased, picking up her regular pack and heading to her own room to drop it off, Rayne tagging along._

_"Please?" Rayne asked, and Lizzie had to stifle a laugh as she pictured what she knew Rayne would look like behind her. Rayne, the strong, quiet, serious knight she was, whining and pouting like a small child who didn't get what she wanted._

_As they rounded the corner and went into Lizzie's room, Lizzie dropped her bag on the floor, and turned around. Just as she thought, thre was Rayne, a pleading look on her face, her bottom lip jutting out slightly in a pout. At the sight, Lizzie couldn't help but cave partially._

_"I guess I can give you a taste." She said finally. Rayne stopped pouting, and smiled. "Great?" Her smile turned quizzical as Lizzie didn't give her what was inside of the paper bag. "Uh...where is it?"_

_Next thing she knew, she was pinned forcefully up against Lizzie's door, with said woman kissing her roughly. And the raven haired girl did indeed get a taste, as Lizzie's tongue entered her__ mouth. Whatever it was, it tasted a lot like it smelled. It was sweet and a bit tart as well. She racked her brain, trying to think of anything that ever tasted like this._

_But before she could start comparing tastes, her taster was ended as Lizzie pulled back. The redhead smiled as she saw the look on Rayne's face. "Enjoy that?"__ She asked, a smirk forming on her __face__. Rayne nodded, and moved to try and get another taste. Her efforts were thwarted, when Lizzie stopped her. "__Ah a__h ah!" She chided. "No more 'til your birthday." Lizzie kept on smirking at Rayne's flabbergasted look__. When Rayne moved away from the door, Lizzie opened it and walked out. T__he chocolate-amethyst eyed woman looked out the door, watching Lizzie saunter down the hall and stairs._

_Rayne unconsciously licked her lips, trying to get a hint of the taste that she had just experienced. And when she could not, Rayne was sure of one fact:_

_She was hooked, and would do anything to have it again._

* * *

Her memory faded back into the corners of her mind, as she walked into yet another part of the market. This time, she didn't think about the smells, or the sounds- she focused, literally, on what she could see with her eyes. Clothing was hanging from the roofs of market stalls, out for everyone to see. As well as clothes, there were crafts, trinkets, and all other sorts of things. There were wooden figurines, smoothed down and polished. There were coloured glass objects as well, that caught the light, and sparkled. There were bigger, stone statues, each cut perfectly, as the creator had wanted them to be.

And then there were paintings. Each was colourful, bright, and unique. Now two paintings were the same, and each and every one was beautiful. Some were of inanimate objects- fruit, statues, landscapes- and some were of people- a portrait of a handsome, rich person, the clothes and posture indicating a good upbringing, or, a simple picture of a farmer, the effects of working his land for a living clearly showing in his face.

It wasn't any of those things that captured Lizzie's attention, though. What did were the tools that were used to make such paintings. Lizzie picked up a brush, and twirled it between her fingers, thinking back.

* * *

_Rayne kept very still. Her hands lay folded on her lap, and she stared straight ahead, her eyes focused on a spot in the distance. Her mouth stayed in a neutral line that was neither a smile, nor a frown. She looked solemn, dignified, and a person in utter control and power._

_Suddenly, her nose twitched. Her breath hitched, and she held it off as long as she could, but alas, it wasn't long until-_

_"ACHOO!"_

_Rayne sneezed violently, losing her position. A second later, there was a groan of frustration. "Thanks a lot." Lizzie grumbled, stepping away from her canvas, a paintbrush dripping paint held in her left hand. Rayne smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry?" She tried. Lizzie just heaved a sigh, and glared at Rayne. "You should be." She hissed, dropping her paintbrush on a table, not caring about the paint that splattered onto its surface.__ She glanced furiously back over to the easel. "I was just about to paint your face, too!"_

_"I'm sorry." Rayne repeated, more seriously this time. "But this was bound to happen again, you know? I mean, this is what, my third-"_

_"Fifth."_

_"-fifth time fidgeting?"__ Rayne wrung her hands together. "You know I'm not really cut out for this painting thing.__ I can sit still for long periods of time and all, but it always seems that in situations like this, I have to constantly keep moving."_

_"I know." Lizzie admitted. Rayne stood up, and went over to Lizzie, draping her arms round the redhead's waist, hugging her. "You should have picked a different person." Rayne whispered. "I don't think that the people would be willing to admire a painting of me. I don't have the kind of looks for that."_

_Lizzie whirled around in Rayne's embrace, __her eyes wide with disbelief. "Rayne!"_

_Said woman was taken aback. "Yes?"_

_"How can you say that?" She asked, her brows drawn together. Rayne blinked. "Wha-__" _

_Lizzie__ just ignored her and continued.__"You're pretty Rayne!" Lizzie exclaimed. Her voice lowered to a murmur, as she looked straight into the taller girl's eyes. "You're more than pretty. You're beautiful."_

_Rayne dropped __her__ gaze, a light blush growing on her cheeks. "That's what you think..."_

_Lizzie grasped Rayne's chin, and tilted it up a bit, just enough so that their eyes met again. "It's true Rayne. I'm not just saying that either; I really mean it. And if you think that you aren't beautiful__..."__ She moved her hand away from Rayne's chin, and cupped her cheek. "Then you should go see a medic, because something is definitely wrong with you."_

_"You really think so?"_

_"Definitely." Lizzie nodded. Her smile turned somewhat manic. "In fact, I can tell you that there are definitely people around Lore who would show you how beautiful you are when you become of age. Even a couple before that..."_

_Rayne rolled her eyes. "Thanks Lizzie. It makes me feel great, knowing that there are complete strangers who would like to 'show me how beautiful I am' while I'm still not legally an adult."_

_"Well..." Lizzie traced a small circles on Rayne's shirt, just underneath her collarbone. "Not complete strangers." She said finally, pulling Rayne just a little bit closer._

_"What do you mean by-__"Rayne__ started, but she saw how Lizzie's cheeks went pink, and how she didn't make eye contact. "Oh." The redhead sighed inwardly, and counted, slowly, to five._

_"OH!"_

_"Yes, oh." Lizzie quipped, stepping from the embrace and back to her painting, trying to force the blood out of her cheeks. "Resume your position, so I can do the rest of this painting."_

_Rayne cocked an eyebrow, and walked over to Lizzie, who still wouldn't meet her gaze. Rayne leaned over, staring down at Lizzie, and placed her mouth right next to the smaller girl's ear. "Are you sure that it's the rest of the painting that you want to do?" She asked, chuckling as she practically saw a shiver go down Lizzie's spine._

_"You're horrible." Lizzie murmured, closing her eyes, and willing away the urge to grab Rayne by the collar and ravish her on the spot._

_"Don't deny, Lizzie." Rayne whispered, taking a quick nip at the woman's ear. She laughed, as she saw Lizzie jump, clearly not expecting it. She went __back to her chair, and sat down, immediately resuming her position; same stance, same expression, same everything, not a change in her face. Lizzie took in a deep breath, calmed her jumping insides, and picked up her brush, dipping it into the paint, and brushing it over the canvas._

_Some minutes later, she was done. She put aside her brush, and sat back, admiring her work. Rayne got up, and smiled. "At last!" She cheered. "Now, to see what it looks like..." As she neared the painting, Lizzie stood up, and blocked her way. _

_"You're not seeing this-"_

_"-until my birthday, right?" Rayne sighed lamely as Lizzie nodded yes._

_Rayne pouted. "I'm starting to wish that my birthday wasn't so soon." _

_Lizzie smirked._

_"Well Rayne, you wouldn't have seen it for a while, even if your birthday was coming up. Not after what you just did." And with that, she turned and left, taking her painting with her. Rayne blinked then tore out of the room._

_"Hey wait!"_

* * *

A cough pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned, and saw the shopkeeper, eying her warily. "Would you like to buy that ma'am?" He asked, glancing at the paintbrush still in between her fingers. Lizzie looked at what else was placed out, and grabbed a couple of more items, before nodding, and handing them over to the owner, who took them and gave her her items in a small, fancy bag. She walked away from the stall, all the things she had bought held tightly in her arms. She walked throughout the entire market, until she reached a point where all the buildings had disappeared, and a forest had reappeared. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the portal-com. With a twist of a dial and a punch of a few buttons, a portal had opened and she stepped through it.

Where she ended up was far out into the forest. She wasn't even in the forest anymore; she was at the other side, where trees were becoming sparse, and the land was becoming hilly. There was one hill in particular- it was bigger than the others. Also, unlike the others, there was a lone, large tree growing on it. It was a maple tree- hard to find, considering the majority of the trees around were coniferous.

Lizzie ended up stepping out of the portal, right next to the tree. She placed a hand on the cool groves of the bark, before looking out at the sight before her. Another special feature about where she was standing was that it was actually quite close to the coastline. She could see the hills going on for another few metres, before the land sloped downwards, leaving her with a perfect view of the ocean. Lizzie made her way down towards the ocean, going down by a part of land where the drop wasn't quite as steep.

Down there by the rocky beach, there was a cavern. It was far enough inland that when high tide would come it was relatively untouched. Looking on from where she had been before, no one could have seen it, but here, it was very much visible. Lizzie stepped into the cavern. It wasn't too interesting, it wasn't big, and it wasn't deep, but it would suffice for the woman.

A few things of hers were inside of the cave. Her satchel; some food... the black as night armour, the used but well cared for blades and other weapons. Speaking of the weapons, only one of them seemed to have not been used. She picked that weapon up, and some water, and headed back outside, and up to the tree, her bought items still being held in her arms.

Lizzie sat down at the roots of the tree, placing everything down around her. She opened out one bag, and tenderly pulled out what were inside- oranges. She opened up another bag, and took out something else. Lastly, she spread out her paintbrush, paints, and paper.

She took the oranges, and stacked them carefully atop each other, in such a way that they would hold still and not roll over. She then grabbed the paper, paints, brush and water. Quietly, she began to paint. After half an hour went by, she was finished. She set her painting down by the oranges, leaning it against the tree trunk.

Finally, Lizzie took the flute, and raised it to her lips, beginning to play a sweet, haunting tune, same as the one in the market, but slower. Not as rushed, or cheerful as the flutist had played it. Their version was made to please, and entertain- Lizzie's was meant to help her remember. And remember Lizzie did, as her mind drifted away for the last time that day.

* * *

_"So this is where my surprise is?" Rayne asked, as she was tugged to Lizzie's room in the tower. Lizzie shook her head yes. "Yup! And we won't be disturbed, because I got everyone to promise that they'll either be quiet, or out of the dorms."_

_"Makes me wonder what you have planned." Rayne commented offhandedly. Lizzie blushed, and slapped her on her arm lightly. "I didn't mean it that way!" Rayne said defensively, as they stepped inside._

_While Lizzie's room was usually in some state of disarray, it was now immaculately clean. What little furniture there was (the bed, a table, some chairs) had been pushed off to the side, except for a single chair, situated right in the middle. Lizzie led Rayne to the chair, and sat her down._

_'Do you remember how __I__ had the three surprises?" She asked, and Rayne nodded. Lizzie grinned._

_"Well, which one do you want first?"_

_"Mm..." Rayne placed a fingertip on her chain thoughtfully. "The painting." She finally decided. Lizzie rolled her eyes. "I knew you were going to say that...but I was hoping you wouldn't."_

_Nevertheless, she reached over to the table, and picked up the painting. She placed a hand on the white cloth that covered it, and with a grand gesture, swept the cover off._

_Rayne wasn't that big of an art fan, but even she had to admit that Lizzie did a fine job on it. And she wasn't just saying that because she was the subject._

_It was incredible lifelike. The different shades that Lizzie had __used__ made it look like sunlight was actually flickering over herself in the painting. Every detail matched Rayne's posture then perfectly, except for one thing. She remembered having a neutral face. Instead, her mouth was upturned in a slight, playful smirk, and her eyes were filled with a teasing quality._

_"It's amazing, Lizzi__e__." Rayne finally said. "I know.__" Lizzie said nonchalantly, trying not to beam. "Anyways...it's onto your next present now." She said, grasping another bag off the table. "And I'm choosing now, because you messed up my plans by choosing the painting, so close your eyes."_

_Rayne did so. A moment later, she felt a familiar weight drop itself into her lap. Out of habit, she slid her arms around the waist that she knew was going to be there. And indeed it was. She heard the same odd noise, and soon, a sharp, tangy scent wafted through the air. "Open your mouth." Lizzie instructed. Rayne did as she was told, and something was placed inside. She began to chew, and the completely addicting taste filled her mouth. She savoured for as long as she could, before opening her eyes. "What is this?" She asked after swallowing._

_Lizzie held up a medium-sized orange sphere, half of its skin and fruit missing. "It's called an orange." She said, tossing the fruit in the air, before catching it and unpeeling the rest of __its__ skin. She broke it into two equal sections, and handed half to Rayne__, chewing slowly on her own as she watched the now elder girl wolf it down._

_"There's more." She laughed; as she saw Rayne's eyes brighten at the prospect of more of her new favourite fruit. She handed the bag to Rayne, who pulled out another orange and peeled it eagerly._

_"And now, your __last gift." She said softly. She got up, moved across the floor, and__ pulled out something from behind her back- a flute._

_"The song." Rayne said, her hands slowing to a stop on her orange. Lizzie nodded. She raised the flute to her mouth, flashed a grin at Rayne, and then started to play._

_Rayne was surprised at the way Lizzie was playing. Her lessons had only started two weeks ago, and already she had mastered a song. And not just a simple song, either. The one Lizzie__ was playing was complicated, Rayne could tell. It seemed like the kind of song that even well seasoned flutists might have trouble with. And it hit her-_

_Lizzie must have been practicing nonstop, just so she could give Rayne what she wanted. Thinking back on it, Rayne was actually joking. Yet Lizzie still did this. All this work and effort just for her._

_The music went on, until it came to a slow stop. Lizzie lifted her mouth from the instrument, and looked at Rayne anxiously. Rayne just stood up, and strode over to Lizzie. Taking the shorter woman in her arms, she gave her a thorough, breathtaking kiss. When they broke off, Rayne pressed her forehead against Lizzie's, and smiled the sweetest, happiest smile Lizzie had ever seen on the taller woman's face. _

_Lizzie smiled back at her, and hugged Rayne as close, and as tightly as she could. No words needed to be said._

* * *

Lizzie's memory came to an end, as did the song. She opened her eyes, convincing herself for a moment that the memory was happening. But it wasn't. Instead of being in the arms of her lover on a cold winter night, in their room in the Guardian Tower, she was sitting outside, all alone underneath a tree, in a place where she could stride around, wearing summer clothing.

Lizzie bit her lip and placed the flute on the ground. She then picked up the weapon, and stared at it. It was her Sacred Staff- yet it wasn't so sacred anymore. The aura radiating from it, once white and pure, was now tainted, darkness flooding from parts used to be occupied by pure light. She looked at it balefully, and then placed it lying on the ground.

She then reached around her neck. With utmost care, she pulled of the chain hanging from it, holding it up so that she could see it perfectly. It wasn't so much the chain that was important, but rather, what was hanging from it- Rayne's wedding ring.

Lovingly, she placed it in front of the painting, letting the ends of the chain spiral into a pile, before placing the ring on top. Never taking her eyes off of Rayne's ring, she grasped her own ring, still on her finger. She twisted it off, and placed it, right beside the other ring. The emerald and the chocolate-amethyst gemstones glinted in the setting sun. They were opposites, but they matched. Somehow, the colours completed and complimented each other.

The woman looked at everything she had set by the tree. Then suddenly, it hit her. Lizzie inhaled sharply as reality set in. Rayne was really gone. She had just built a shrine to commemorate her. She wouldn't ever see Rayne alive again. And all she had were memories of Rayne, and the painting she had just created, nearly identical to the one she created years ago.

Lizzie closed her eyes, biting her lip, and digging her nails into her leg. She bowed her head down, her breathing growing more ragged with every breath. She tried to stop it, tried to stop what she knew what was happening, but she couldn't.

For the first time in 3 years, Lizzie broke down, and began to cry silently. And as she cried, her eyes opened, and she traced the painted black hair on the portrait, and whispered but one thing-

"Happy Birthday Rayne."

-


	6. The Funeral

The Funeral

And this is the next chapter. As usual, I hope that you all enjoy.

Plus, Felix, Here's your mention.

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Kay and Rayne. Xenolord owns Maria, Safiria and Gale. All others do not belong to me.

* * *

It had now been 4 years since The Mourner became the terror to all drakel in Lore.

If anybody would take a look around, in most cases, there were no drakel to be seen. They had either gone into hiding, or fled to safety. Originally, she had thought it was Ren T'kak that they were all hiding in, but then she remembered the chilling tale that she had heard from Maria about it. It had partially been rebuilt now, but she doubted that it had enough supplies to support that many people. From what she had heard, whispered by mouths all across the land was that now the refuge city, as it was called, was teeming with drakel, from those who lived barely a mile away, to the people who dared to ever leave the drakel lands.

The Mourner had attacked all across Lore, but oddly enough, he hadn't even gone anywhere remotely close to the city.

No one knew what the Mourner was thinking. He was unpredictable, and had never been caught. They didn't have any idea where to find him, and it drove both Guardian and Drakel Authority alike crazy.

They both didn't think to look for The Mourner right under their noses though.

* * *

Lizzie stared into the horizon, her face pensive as she sat on the shore. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, her eyes unblinking as they looked out into the sea. She was in a new location, and a new town. She never stayed in the same place for too long. If she did, there was a chance that she would be caught by the group that was after her, who she had come to call the hunters.

Those hunters, from what she had seen so far, were a group of well-trained Drakels and guardians. _'Not well trained enough, though.'_ She thought. If they were as great as everyone thought they were, they would have been able to catch up with her more.

Counting Gale's fight, there was only four times in which they had met up. Twice, it had just been a fleeting glimpse. They had gotten there, just as she left the scene. As she walked away, she could hear the curses and disappointed groans f the team, and couldn't help but smirk.

She wasn't smirking the fourth time though. It had been a brush with Kay. Literally. That time, they had managed to find her at the scene of the crime, and began to pursue her. One of them had managed to catch up with her. The person's hood had fallen off while they were running, and Lizzie had caught sight

of her head. There was no mistaking that fiery hair, only a shade lighter than he own. Lizzie almost froze right there, but instead, simply increased her speed and ran faster than she ever had before.

It had been four years since she had seen that hair as well. Four years since she had left Battleon...

Lizzie shook her head to clear her mind. She had been thinking a lot about Battleon, and the people living there recently. She didn't know exactly why- it had been quite a while since she let her thoughts stray to her former home.

_Home._

The woman suddenly felt a pang of longing and sadness inside of her. She raised her hand, and placed it over her heart, tearing her gaze away from the waves at last. She knew this feeling. It was homesickness. Every now and then during the past couple of years, the few times it rose up, she pushed it aside, ignoring it completely. Now though, it was becoming increasingly common, and happening nearly every single day.

Lizzie slowly lowered her eyes to where her hand rested. She was clutching at the fabric of her shirt, almost as if she was trying to get at her chest. She was holding it so tightly, that her fingers and knuckles were turning white. It was as if she was trying to reach inside of herself, trying to reach into her chest and rip out that homesickness that hurt so badly. It throbbed, and no matter how hard Lizzie tried, she couldn't completely vanquish the feeling, only lessen it.

The woman sighed, and stood, dropping the hand over her heart to her side. Turning away from the shore, she began to walk away. _'Sleep'_. She thought. _'Sleep will help. Sleep will take it away. Sleep always takes it away'_

The next morning however, Lizzie found that sleep, for once, didn't help at all. When she awoke, her mind was blissfully blank for all of five seconds. Then it hit her. The ache in her heart was now stronger than ever. It was so bad, that it was now physically affecting her. She literally felt unwell- her head hurt, and her usual strength was drained, half of its normal state. As much as she didn't want to do it, Lizzie knew what she now had to do.

Lizzie dressed in all black (sans her armour), as she had every day since the death of Rayne, . With pale hands, she tied Rayne's cloak around her shoulders, then produced a portal-com. With sluggish fingers, she twisted the knob and entered in all too familiar coordinates.

A step, familiar sensation, and a burst of light later, Lizzie was atop of the hill that overlooked the town of Battleon.

Not much had changed, she could see. Yulgar's Inn was still there, and Aria's and Warlic's shops too. The Guardian tower still loomed in the distance. But there was one, strange detail.

There were no people to be seen, anywhere. At least, not along Main Street, this was odd because it was usually packed with people. Lizzie went down the hill, and stealthily made her way up to the

windows. She peered in and saw that no one (who would know her at least) was inside. Aria's store was closed- Warlic's was too.

Lizzie thought it odd, but didn't dwell on it. She came back to Battleon for a reason- to try and stop the homesick feeling. As she walked around, she lost all conscious thought about where she was going, and just began to wander the streets. She didn't need to see or look where anything was, for she knew the town like the back of her hand. It was her home, after all.

But if this was her home, why did the homesickness grow instead of fade?

Lizzie blinked suddenly and looked around. Without noticing, she had wandered farther into the town. In fact, she had wandered off so far, that she had reached a place that was near the boundaries.

The Battleon Cemetery

Lizzie looked up at the iron-wrought words above the entrance, and then faced the open gates once more and walked inside.

Now that she was in the cemetery, Lizzie realized something. The horrible feeling of sadness in her heart was dissipating slowly, more and more as she walked further into the graveyard. It was strange. Why would such a sombre, solemn place bring her such relief? Lizzie didn't think about it too hard though. She was losing that desperation to come back, and that was all that mattered. She walked over a hill, past another row of stones, and there she saw it.

An entire group of people, all swathed in black. Lizzie stood at an angle; she could see the group, but she faced the back of the tombstone they all stood in front of.

The redhead came closer. When she could see the faces of the people at the very front, she stopped in her tracks. Something had happened while she was gone. She inched behind a tree, and watched the funeral. From her position now, she knew that if any of them looked her way, they wouldn't be able to see the woman.

Someone parted from the crowd and walked up to the tombstone. Lizzie could tell that it was a man. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"I only knew her for a short period." He said. "She was a comrade of mine. We were on the same squad, the one that was...is hunting for the Mourner. Previously, we had no knowledge of each other. She was a young, yet talented Guardian, and I was Felix, a warrior, yet a fresh face in this town. She was the one who showed me around on what few breaks we had, and introducing me to people and life in Battleon. Even during the toughest of times, she was constantly trying to motivate us all, and make us laugh. She was a great person, and a great fighter; but most importantly, a great friend."

The man, Felix, stepped away, keeping his gaze straight. Lizzie could see that he was trying not to shed a tear. As he went down, Lizzie saw someone else go up. She didn't see their face, but it didn't matter if she did or didn't, because it didn't matter. People gave their thoughts and experiences, and were

replaced by more people, expressing how they felt about whoever they were talking about. Lizzie didn't know them all, and she didn't care. She was suddenly reminded of a funeral, four years ago, much like this. Where she didn't know who was speaking, who was grieving, who was crying. That funeral, like this one, was all a big blur.

Soon, the congregation of people had left. Almost all of them were gone now, except for four people. Lizzie flipped the hood of her cloak up, left her position behind the tree, and crept closer. All four of their faces became clearer and easier for her to see, but Lizzie already knew who they were.

The two that were farther away from the tombstone, Lizzie could see first. They stood out more, despite being farther away. It was the height difference really. They stood side by side, one of them looming over the other. Whoever it was, they were tall, incredibly tall. They were at least a head and a half over the shorter one. Yet that wasn't the most distinctive trait. Lizzie could see that the tall one was a drakel.

Burning hatred and a lust for drakel blood replaced the solace that Lizzie had temporarily found. Her muscles tensed, her breathing quickened, and her body became instantly ready for a fight. She looked around for something as she moved closer, any weapon; a rock, a branch, something loose that she could get her hands on, something she could use to kill that despicable creature. Lizzie stopped though, as something happened that completely surprised her.

That drakel fell into the arm of the shorter person, who wore a black cloak just like Lizzie's, with the hood down. Lizzie caught sight of the orange hair, and she knew who they were. It was Kay, and... Lizzie strained her memory for a name. It was that girl, that drakel woman from years ago, Jess. Jess had fallen into Kay's arms, crying. Lizzie could see, even from a distance, that Kay herself was holding back tears.

Dimly, Lizzie remembered a scene like this from Rayne's funeral, where it had been Kay who was crying her heart out, and Gale who was comforting her and drying her tears. Now the roles had been reversed, and it was Kay's turn to be strong, and comfort another. It was utterly ironic- two women, both striving and competing to earn the heart of Gale Despair, now turning to each other for comfort in this time of grief.

The two closest to the grave marker, were both incredibly pale. One had shoulder length, wavy seafoam green hair; the other, long raven locks, down past her waist. The green haired woman had eyes of crimson red, the dark haired one with amber. Lizzie could see that something was wrong. Maria and Safiria's eyes, both usually piercing and full of depth, were now lacking that very trait, instead, being clouded over with sadness, grief, and a million other emotions.

Lizzie had now reached where they all stood. She walked behind them, none of them noticing her. She stood behind them all, and read the gravestone they stood at.

**GALE DESPAIR**

_A kind daughter_

_A strong Fighter_

_A loyal friend_

_She will be loved, and missed_

Somewhere, deep inside, Lizzie was completely overwhelmed. Gale, Dead? No, it couldn't be...

But it was true. It had happened. It was like the grass beneath her feet, the stone erected all around her, and the rain that was beginning to fall from the stormy sky above. It was real, and there was nothing she could do to change it.

Lizzie stood still. The rain fell harder now, and Jess and Kay both left slowly, not noticing the woman behind them. Maria and Safiria stayed at the grave, not caring about how soaked they were getting. There, all three of them stood, as the rain continued on increasing in strength with every passing moment.

Somewhere in the distance, lightening flashed, and thunder crashed and that was what did it.

Maria fell to the ground, onto her knees. He wracking sobs could be heard over the loud splash that every droplet of rain made, and the boom of thunder.

"Why?" Lizzie heard her yell. "Why didn't I get them all?" Her cries were answered only by the hiss of the wind.

"It should have been me, damnit!" Maria screamed. She punched the ground, over and over again. Soon, Lizzie could see blood dripping from her knuckles. It mingled with the rain, and fell back to the ground. Still, she kept on hitting the earth, as if punishing it for taking Gale away.

She smashed her fist into the ground one last time. "Bring her back!" She wailed. Safiria slumped to her own knees as well, and their sobs melded with the howl of the storm. Lizzie had never seen either of them break down so completely before. Maria was always cheerful and in control, and Safiria was so calm and reserved. Now, those people, the queen and the fighter, had let their bodies and souls be consumed with grief.

Suddenly, Lizzie had gone to the side, and picked flowers. And before she knew it, she was in between Safiria and Maria, placing those wildflowers in front of Gale's grave. Safiria looked up as the flowers. Her eyes widened, and another sob escaped her mouth as she saw them; they were Gale's favourite kind.

And then both Safiria's and Maria's arms were around her, and both their faces were pressed into the already soaking fabric around her neck. Lizzie let them cling onto her, knowing that now more than ever, they needed the comfort of another. The Mourner disappeared, and Lizzie, the kind, caring, understanding Lizzie came back for that day. She murmured soothing words them. Even though she knew they couldn't hear her over the roar of the storm, she knew that they both understood what she meant. Lizzie helped them both up, and slowly, they all walked back to the Despair Manor.

As they went inside, Maria (who until then had seemed not to notice where they were) finally realized that they were not at Gale's grave. She tore herself away from Lizzie, rushing to the door. Lizzie let Safiria down gently, before following Maria and grabbing her, before she could step outside. "Let me go!" Maria roared, trying her hardest to shake the smaller woman off of her.

Lizzie held on though, and somehow, managed to close the door. She threw herself on top of Maria, who was now flailing, clawing at the wood floor, trying to get away from the woman who was holding her back.

"Let me go!" She shrieked, squirming and flailing.

"Maria." Lizzie said quietly. Maria said nothing, and kept fighting against her. Safiria was slumped beside them both. Lizzie was sure that if the vampire wasn't grieving, she would have held Lizzie back, and let Maria go. At the moment she couldn't even move, the sobs that shook her entire body taking up too much energy.

"Maria!" She said again, a little louder. Maria stopped trying to squirm away, but began to try and blindly attack Lizzie, twisting her arms upwards to hit the younger woman.

"MARIA!" Lizzie finally yelled. Maria froze, and Safiria herself stopped crying, both momentarily overcome with shock.

"Lizzie?" Maria whispered voice raspy from her screams. Lizzie nodded. "It's me Maria. You can't lose yourself like this. You won't be any use to the world if all you do is spend your time at that grave-"

"Memorial."

"What?"

"It's a memorial. Not a grave." Safiria said. Lizzie looked bemusedly at her.

"Gale's body... Gale's body isn't there." Maria said quietly. The meaning behind that sentence struck Lizzie, and the former guardian began to fight again, the rage and grief clouding her mind once more. "That's why you have to let me go!" She yelled. "I have to go back to her memorial, and then... I have to kill those bastards! Starting with that kid that started this hellish chain of events!"

Lizzie pressed down harder on Maria. "Safiria, tell me what happened."

The vampire queen began to breathe harshly, but nodded.

"Gale... she had come home. She had been hunting for the Mourner, and they finally let her come back, just for a while. It was bad enough having her away from us for so long. Things just got worse from there. Gale decided to go back to the college, take a class or two that she had missed before. One night, Gale was...she was... " Safiria broke off, closing her eyes and biting her lip so hard, that she began to draw blood.

"She was raped." Maria growled. Lizzie was stunned. It was only when she felt Maria almost break free of her pin that she continued to press down. "Safiria, please, tell me more."

Safiria nodded, once she had regained control of her breathing. "We found out that she was pregnant. She was debating about the baby for a while...but then she decided to keep it. She hated the father, wanted him to die, but she didn't want another child to be parentless." Lizzie nodded. Being an orphan in her own childhood, she knew the pains of having no parents. "Jess and Kay...when they learned, they were shocked. But then they promised Gale, that they would help her take care of the baby. Things were finally starting to look up. But then...this happened." Safiria took in a few deep breaths, becoming more worked up with every word that she had said. Her eyes were still closed, and Lizzie was sure that behind those eyelids, memories were flicking by.

"A week and a few days later, Gale accepted a mission. She went with two other recruits. After two weeks had passed, people went to go investigate. And they found..." Her voice cracked, and she lost the control that she had so desperately tried to hold onto, as she began to cry again.

Although weaker and weaker now, Maria was still struggling. She continued on for the woman. "DrakZombies." She snarled. "That's all that was left. No body, no corpse, just the remains of a DrakZombie." Her voice rose from a rasp to a scream. "I'll kill them all!"

Finally, she relaxed, heaving for breath. She had overdone it, forcing herself to use so much of her strength, and draining herself of what little energy she had left. From what she could tell, Safiria had now cried herself into a fitful sleep. Maria was on the verge of passing out as well.

Knowing that at this point Maria could not possible try and bolt for the door, Lizzie got off of her. She supported Maria, and then got Safiria too, helping them both up to their bedroom, and dropping them on the bed. With some difficulty, she placed their blankets atop both of them, Safiria had clutched onto the blanket like a child having a nightmare. But Maria, Maria was still awake. As Lizzie fixed the blanket around her, Maria looked up, and asked her something, that, if Lizzie's heart wasn't already forever broken, would have smashed it once more.

"Why did this have to happen?"

Lizzie closed her eyes. "I don't know Maria." She replied softly. Maria didn't hear her answer- she was already asleep, clutching at the blankets like her wife, and whimpering.

Lizzie stepped out of the room, and shut the door quietly. She walked away, back into the hall. Quickly, she wandered towards the window. It was dark now- quite dark, even without the storm clouds. Lizzie would think it to be around sundown. But there was no sun today to tell her, and for good reason.

She stared out the window, and up into the sky. The rain was still falling hard and thick. _'It's as if the heavens opened, and the gods' tears are falling to the earth.' _She thought silently. "They're crying." Lizzie murmured. "They're crying for the loss of a daughter." She didn't say anything after that. Lizzie just stared, completely still. Inside, however, her mind was working fast, as she asked herself the question that Maria had asked a moment ago, but on a broader scale.

She asked herself why everything had to happen. Why did Gale go on that mission, why did Rayne have to be shot, why did everything in the last four years occur. She asked herself all these questions, and so many more.

And she couldn't answer a single one.

* * *

Lizzie ended up staying the night at the Despair residence, knowing that Maria and Safiria, even with each other, could not get through that first night without some sort of help. When morning broke, Lizzie found Maria and Safiria both in a deep sleep, one that could only come from exhaustion. Even asleep, Lizzie could see that they were still troubled. Every now and then, she could hear a whimper coming from either woman, their eyes beneath their eyelids flickering, and the dried tracks of tears still on their faces. Both of them were strong woman, and natural leaders. It saddened Lizzie to see them so heartbroken.

Lizzie left the room, and headed down to their kitchens. After leaving the small breakfast she knew they wouldn't eat on the table, Lizzie headed back to the Battleon cemetery, the light from the sun on the horizon just barely lighting her way.

Soon, the woman found herself at a familiar place- gale's grave. Lizzie shook her head. Not a gravestone- a memorial. Kneeling down on the wet ground, she sat by the stone, thinking. Her mind wandered off again, and for some reason, she was back to thinking about her homesickness. It surprised her that it hasn't left the minute she gazed upon this town. _'Why hasn't it?'_ She asked herself. _'This is my town; this is my home.'_ It confused her. But what puzzled her even more, was why only now, in the cemetery, she was lacking almost all of it.

It just didn't make sense. Here, surrounded by hundreds of bodies lying merely metres beneath her feet, she should be feeling longing, longing to leave this place immediately, with its eerie tranquility and silence. She shouldn't be so at ease. It made her wonder why now, the only longing she felt was o stay in the graveyard forever.

She thought back to Maria, who had thrashed and fought, screaming to the world that she wanted to go back to the graveyard. Was she feeling the same homesickness that Lizzie felt? Did she want to escape the sadness too? Maybe so.

But why a boneyard, of all places? Why would this place bring so much comfort to a person?

It was then that something caught Lizzie's eye. It was another grave, one that stood close to Gale's. Without getting up, Lizzie slowly crawled over to it. As she crawled, what remainders of the homesickness she still had, faded and faded away until they were almost completely gone, as she read the name chiselled into the stone.

**RAYNE ANASI**

With a single hand, Lizzie reached out, and traced her fingers through each letter, writing the name again and again, just like she used to. As she traced, she felt a sea of calm wash over her, realizing dimly that this was the first time in four years that she had felt the homesickness drift away. The answer came to her then.

Home isn't just a place – it's a person.

At that moment, the sun chose to fully rise into the sky. It bathed the entire cemetery in its light. All around her, the moisture that remained on the grass from the previous day glittered, making it look like tiny diamonds were scattered all around. Lizzie slowly stopped tracing the name on the gravestone, and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the warmth that shone down on her face. Dropping her head and looking at the ground, she noticed something, lying on the ground. Picking it up, she saw that it was the wildflower bouquet. Twirling it between her fingers, she saw every little dewdrop reflect the light, making it sparkle. Crawling back over to Gale's headstone, Lizzie placed it gently onto the ground before the stone. "Goodbye, Gale." She whispered. A strong breeze picked up, and blew across the graveyard. As the wind caressed her, Lizzie felt completely at peace, knowing that somehow, somewhere, Gale had heard her words.

* * *

For days, Lizzie stayed with Maria and Safiria, helping them get through their lives. Whenever company came over, Lizzie would either leave the house entirely, or stay out of sight. Every day, people came. They were all different, some strangers, some painfully familiar. Kay came all the days that Lizzie was there; listening to her daughter's voice, Lizzie wanted to reveal herself, let the younger redhead know she was there. But it could not be so- there was a time for everything, after all.

However, on her seventh day in Battleon, she knew that it was time for her to go.

* * *

The wind blew, and an owl hooted. Crickets chirped, and the grass rustled. The moonlight cast its silvery glow down on the Battleon cemetery, and an Elizabeth Miura-Anasi.

Lizzie sat in between the grave markers of Rayne and Gale, her knees drawn up to her chest, her face pensive. She stared out like she had but a week ago, not into a sea of water, but into a sea of grass and tombstones. This time, she was not troubled. She was calm, and at peace. But this couldn't last forever. As much as Lizzie wanted to, she couldn't stay in the yard. Not while she still had work to do. Her cloak, Rayne's cloak, sat beside her, folded, clean, and ready at any time to be slipped on. The initials stitched into the light side, RA, just reminded her of what still needed to be done.

Slowly, she picked up the cloak, unfolded it, and slipped it, dark side out, onto herself. She didn't leave though. With a snail's pace, she pressed one hand onto Gale's stone, closing her eyes and bowing her head at the same time, looking as if she was in prayer. She removed her hand and turned to Rayne's grave. Lizzie crawled over to it, and turned so that the inscription faced her. She laid herself, face down, onto the ground.

This was the closest to Rayne she would ever get again, for they were separated by six feet of earth, a wooden casket, and the boundary between life and death.

With one last sigh, Lizzie got up again, and began to walk, turning her back on the tombstones. She strode, out of the cemetery, out of the street, and out of Battleon once again. Never turning back for a final glance, she trekked on, never stopping, never slowing, until she reached the crossroads. There, she saw two figured, who she knew without even having to see their faces.

Maria and Safiria.

Slowly, she made her way towards them. As she stood in front of them, she noticed two, Guardian issued rucksacks. Much like her own when she first left Battleon, they were full to the point of near exploding. Maria, she could see, was back in her Guardian Armour as well, the sobbing wreck from one week past and the playful, seductive woman gone, replaced with the deadly warrior that lurked right beneath the surface.

"You're leaving." Lizzie said. It wasn't a question.

Maria nodded. "Like you, Lizzie, we have other things to do, things we can't accomplish by staying here." Lizzie knew that Maria was talking about the Mourner. She hadn't told either of them, but both women were definitely not stupid.

"I see." There was an awkward silence between them. Lizzie contemplated turning and leaving right then, but just as she was about to, Safiria spoke up.

"I..." She hesitated. "I just...I want..." She faltered, and swallowed, then took a deep breath. Safiria exhaled, and looked Lizzie straight in the eye. "Thank you." She said finally. "Thank you for..." the vampire trailed off, as Lizzie held up a hand.

"I know. You're welcome." She replied. All of them knew what Safiria was trying to say- Thank you for watching over us. Thank you for helping us through that first night. Thank you for caring for us. Thank you for being our friend. Thank you for everything.

"Goodbye." Lizzie whispered, as she turned and began to walk into the night, knowing that behind her, Maria and Safiria were doing the same in a different direction.

Lizzie had learned that home wasn't just a place; it was a person as well. Maria and Safiria were much like Lizzie herself that way. They had found their solace, and made their home in that person. For Lizzie, it was Rayne; for the Despairs, it was Gale. And now, all 3 women had another thing in common- their homes had been lost, been destroyed.

And that was why, Lizzie realized, she was killing. Not just to avenge Rayne, but to make sure that this would never happen again. What little shreds of compassion that were still left in Lizzie's heart didn't want anyone else's homes to be destroyed.

Lizzie knew this was what Maria would do as well. Lizzie didn't guess; she knew. For every day she was in Battleon, Lizzie could see Maria inwardly asking herself, _'Why didn't I get them all?'._

The way she said DrakZombie that one night, with such conviction, such hatred...she was going to go and kill them all now. She was just like Lizzie, avenging her home.

But there would be a difference in who they became when they killed.

The Mourner was considered a mass-murderer, a sick minded fiend who wanted nothing but to slay and murder the drakel folk. Maria would most likely be considered an even greater hero, coming out of her retirement to try and rid the world of even more scourge than she already had. It was ironic, really – two women, with similar goals driving them to commit similar deeds. Yet only one would be praised, her name sung in songs by troubadours across the land, while other would be declared a threat to every living being, her name spoken in frightened whispers and terrified screams.

Lizzie numbly pulled out her portal-com, and pressed the required button. With one last thought about the two friends she knew she would never see again, Lizzie stepped through the portal, and was gone.

* * *

"KAY!"

Kay and Blaze turned to the calling voice. Before they knew it, Blaze was hit by a tall, scaled blur. Looking at who it was, Kay was surprised to see Jess clinging onto the older man. Blaze had become a mentor-like figure to both Kay and Jess after word has spread about his outburst at the local community college years ago. He was well trusted by both, and something like an uncle to Kay.

"They're gone!" Jess gasped.

"Who?" Blaze asked, looking confused, even as he rubbed soothingly at the drakel woman's back.

"Maria and Safiria!" She exclaimed. "I went to check on them, and they were gone!"

As she went on to say how they should send a search party out immediately, Kay recalled a similar situation, one that was so fresh in her mind, that it was is it had happened yesterday.

"No." Kay said. Both Blaze and Jess looked at her incredulously.

"What do you mean no?" Jess asked. "We should send someone immediately! We don't know what's happened to either of the two, and the best thing to do would be to search!"

Blaze scratched his head through the red cloth of his bandana. "I'd have to agree with Jess, Kay." He said. Kay sighed, and shook her head.

"No. If they're gone... then they're gone for a reason." The blonde man mulled over Kay's words, but Jess Just stared at her.

Until a moment ago, Kay had never understood why Trip had said these words to her when her own mother left. But now, she understood why.

"Are you insane? Do you not care about them?" Jess asked.

Kay sighed, wishing that Jess' grammar hadn't improved so much over the years.

"Jess, I do care for them, so, so much. That's why I'm not going to go out and search for them."

"But... they...we..." The drakel spluttered. Blaze simply remained quiet, listening to Kay as she resumed speaking.

"You know them just as well as I do. They wouldn't leave without telling anyone, unless there was a reason. Neither of them is like that. If we follow them, we'd be going against their wishes. "

"Why are you so calm about this?" Jess wailed, with wide eyes.

"Because..." Kay hesitated, before slowly continuing. "Because this is what happened to me, four years ago. When my mother left, I was the same way you are now Jess. I asked myself, _'Why would she leave?'_But then Trip explained to me why. She said something very similar to what I've told you. And only now, I fully understand what she was telling me."

Kay blinked back unshed tears burning in her eyes, and continued, willing her voice not to crack.

"My mother...she left me a note, saying that there was something she had to do alone. Trip told me the same thing. This is the same situation, Jess. Whatever Maria and Safiria have to do, they have to do it by themselves. They're gone, and all we can do now, is pray for their safety, and hope that one day, they'll come back to us."

Jess let out a choked sob, and flung herself away from Blaze, and onto Kay. And suddenly, Kay felt as if she was in the scenario from four years before, but in a different perspective. She could see herself in Jess, crying her heart out because she had lost two of the people closest to her in such a short amount of time. And now, she knew how Trip must have felt. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Jess, silently promising herself, and Gale, that she would piece Jess back together, just as Gale had done to her.

Blaze stood at the side, proud of Kay. When Lizzie had left, Kay had been a wreck, a shell of what she once was. She was broken. He had watched how, bit by bit, Gale had brought the old Kay back. And now, with Gale gone, Kay would stand up, and do the same for Jess as Gale had done for her.

He was proud of Gale too. Proud of her for being such a caring person, and a fighter to the end. Most of all, for touching so many people's lives, including his, and changing them for the better. He raised his head up to the sky.

"Thank you Gale." He murmured.

The wind blew once again.

* * *

Lookup Gale's name in the dictionary if you want to know the importance of the wind.


	7. The Final

The Final

Originally, this and the chapter after this were all going to be part of one chapter, but it became too large to be a single one. So, I hope you all enjoy. There's a line in this chapter that's pretty much came from Buffy. Try and find it. I'll give you a hint- in the show; it's said by another redhead, who (at the time) wants to kill everyone because her own lover was shot.

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie. All other characters I do not own.

* * *

Five years.

It had been five years.

Five years since she began to kill. Five years since she left Battleon. Five years since the accident.

Five years since her only reason for living had been cruelly ripped away from her.

She had not been lazy in these five years. No, she had been busy, slaying those terrible things, killing them day by day, and taking as many of their lives as she could, all in exchange for _**hers**__. _

In her mind, it was simple. Why should those things have to live while _**she **_couldn't? Those horrid creatures didn't deserve to live, didn't deserve to walk the earth while the person who was ten times better than any one of them was, couldn't. She was bringing them to justice; that was all.

But to the rest of Lore, it was completely different. They had called her a murderer, a terrorist, a threat to Lore itself. She had been labelled worse, than the same people she used to hunt down. They had given her an alias- The Mourner.

Drakel everywhere would flee at the sound of the name. They had all run to the city of refuge, seeking protection from the mass murderer. Over the past five years, chances were that all those who hadn't been killed had moved to the city, resulting in almost all Drakel living in that one town. The city was full, overrun with the sheer amount of drakel moving to the city; it was something that even the humans themselves didn't think could happen.

"The Mourner hasn't attacked even remotely close to the city in all these years! Why would he attack now?" The drakel told their people. For the most part, everyone was satisfied with that statement, believing what they heard. Truth be told, they were just fooling themselves. All those who were high in power just wanted to solve the population influx, or rather, the problems that came with it.

Food shortages, water shortages, home shortages, and most importantly, gold shortages. There were simply not enough resources to support so many people, even in such a large city as this one. And even in the government that they had, there was an underlying feeling of insecurity, fear, and depression that was slowly seeping into the city.

Unbeknownst to them though, their troubles would soon be over- because The Mourner was coming to put them out of their misery.

* * *

Lizzie had been waiting for this day to come, ever since she became the Mourner.

She knew it would happen. She _wanted_ it to happen. She watched and she waited. Every move she made, every life she had taken, they had all been carefully thought over. Well, the first part anyways. This had been Lizzie's goal from the start. And now, she had succeeded it.

All the drakel who she hadn't killed had, over the course of those five years, decided to move to the Refuge City. This would have happened anyways; so many drakel were already migrating to large cities like that one, where most of the money could be made. One day, the Drakels would have sent themselves the trouble of a huge population in a small space, one way or another. Doing what she had done, Lizzie had just sped up the process.

Lizzie sat, waiting. She didn't know what for; she just knew she had to wait. She was near the city now. All it would take was another portal, and Refuge City would be in her sights.

Lizzie thought as she sat. She thought about her life – her life before, and her life now. She thought of her family, and her friends. Most of all, she thought of Rayne. She was the person that Lizzie was doing this all for. It had taken a while for it to sink in that Rayne was dead, and that Lizzie wouldn't see her again. Once it had sunk in, it just made everything easier for the woman. Rayne was gone, and she wasn't coming back. So Lizzie was making sure that the drakel would be gone as well. And none of them would ever, EVER, come back.

With that thought, Lizzie stood up. Slowly, silently, she pulled on her armour, attaching all her weapons to her belt and back. Finally she pulled on her cloak, but only after fingering the threads of the two letters that were stitched into the white side – RA.

Pulling out her portal com, Lizzie twisted the knob, and punched in a few buttons. When the portal opened up, Lizzie took a deep breath, and stepped through.

With a familiar tingling sensation, Lizzie stepped out of the portal, finding herself inside the city in a dark alley. It was relatively quiet. Suddenly, a male drakel stepped out of the shadows.

He hissed something that Lizzie couldn't understand. All she knew was that it was hostile. Lizzie took a quick look at him. His clothes were ragged, and she could tell that he was bad off. It figured – there was bound to be poverty in an over-populated city, no matter what the race. He snarled again, raised a clenched fist, and brought it toward her.

His blow never hit, for Lizzie caught his hand before it ever made contact. The male gasped, and that was the last out of his mouth. Lizzie shoved him into the wall of the alley she was in with incredible strength. His head hit the wall, and Lizzie smirked cruelly as she heard the sickening crack. Holding him by the scruff of his neck against the wall, she reached into her belt and pulled something from it. With a flash of steel and a muted scream, that 'something' was protruding from the man's chest. With a few twists of her dagger for good measure, Lizzie pulled out the weapon. She wiped the blood covering it onto the corpse's dirtied clothes, before sheathing it again.

She felt the sacred staff almost pulse against her side. She ignored it though, and passed it immediately. She grasped the hilt of another weapon by her side. Pulling the sword out, Lizzie stared at the gleaming metal. It was light yet deadly, and sharp. It would fit perfectly for what she was planning to do. Checking to make sure the drakel was dead one last time; she sheathed her sword, and slunk off further into the alley. She would make her move, but not here. It was too empty. She could see only a few people passing the entrance. No, she was going to make her attack, but when she did, she would make sure that it would be known. And how else to make it known, but to attack the busiest part of town?

* * *

She crept along in the darkness, until she reached the hub of activity – the very middle of Refuge City. From her darkened alley, she could see them all. Some were chatting with others, some were walking around. Some were simply sitting in groups, conversing in their strange, savage language. From every aspect, they looked almost human. But they weren't; they were monsters, atrocities. They were wastes of space. Many things had changed about the way Lizzie acted and thought, but this one thought never did-

Why should those things deserve to live, while her lover was dead?

If that question would be asked to someone else, they would probably have no answer. To them, that would mean that there would be no reason to kill. But Lizzie wasn't someone else. Someone else wouldn't know how she felt; someone else wouldn't see her logic.

But there was no more time to waste, thinking these thoughts. For now, there was a more important matter to attend to- how many drakel she could kill.

Lizzie walked backwards in the alley, retracing the steps that she had taken. Lizzie had always prided herself on her speed and agility. She was always one of the fastest Guardians, second only to few when she was in service. The enemy would try and land a few hits, but they would usually fail as she quickly avoided them. It helped as well that she had trained once or twice with the other Elizabeth, the one who trained the ninjas. Her speed came in handy now, as she quickly scaled up the wall and landed atop the building with ease.

She stared down at the many drakel, before moving back a few metres or so. Turning again to face the crowds that couldn't see her, she quietly unsheathed her sword. Her hands were steady as she held it in front of her. With a last deep breath, Lizzie ran as fast as she could. At the last moment, she leapt off of the rooftop. Her momentum had gotten her far enough so that she went a distance instead of falling straight off of the building. This would have been a death wish for anyone who tried it, but not for The Mourner. This was all part of her plan, but still, it was the one part where everything could go wrong.

As she began to close in on the ground, people began to notice the black blur. Especially the group of drakel that it seemed to be heading towards. They stared quizzically at it, and that was the last thing that any of them saw for the next moment, all of their heads had been cleanly cut off of their bodies. The corpses fell to the ground, and precisely at that moment, The Mourner fell on them, before bouncing back up, her sword still at the ready. It was dead silent, and then someone screamed. "Mourner!"

All hell - and a bloodthirsty smirk on the Mourner's face- broke loose. People were yelling, screaming, pushing and shoving as they tried to run. It didn't help them- for this, too, was part of her plan.

The Mourner made her way through the crowds, her sword out and flinging. With every swing, she brought down another drakel.

One stared at her as she advanced towards him.

"No please spare-"

_Thud_

The drakel's body fell to the floor oozing out a bloody mess. The Mourner simply stared waiting for another attack. This time it came from behind but the mourner was quick and jabbed the creature through its heart. She could hear the soft damp squelch as she removed her sword from the dying body. Staring down at it, she sheathed her sword and grabbed the axe that was strapped onto her back instead.

Looking up from the corpse, The Mourner saw them. They were all marching towards her, an army of trained drakel soldiers. Their blue-gray armour and weapons gleamed menacingly. A large male drakel shouted something, and they all began to charge at her. The Mourner's grip on her axe tightened, her eyes narrowed, and she shifted her stance. They would be trickier to handle than the innocent, but easy enough.

They surround her bearing weapons of spears and swords. The Mourner wielded her axe with two hands and started hacking at the army. One by one they fell as their bloody limbs dropped to the ground causing it to become even damper than before.

She heard a low muttering from behind as she turned two spears flung at her head. She ducked and the spears landed into the skull of a drakel soldier. She watched as its eyes crossed and its body fell onto the earth. Another solider came at her with a sword but The Mourner jumped and landed gracefully onto the hilt of the blade, then diced the creature's body in two. Realizing they didn't stand a chance the drakel soldier were slowly backing away but The Mourner still attacked unmercifully, picking them off one by one.

* * *

The Mourner was beginning to break into a sweat now. Slashing and hacking her way through the innocent and the trained, she must have killed hundreds at the least by now. Yet still, more came. Gritting her teeth, the Mourner pulled another drakel towards her after disarming him, slicing off his head immediately. Another came close behind her, rising his sword above his head. The Mourner crouched low to the ground and swung her leg out, tripping him and two others. Moving back up, she raised the axe and swung it down upon one of the tripped soldiers, relishing the anguished cry that that one made. Pulling the bloody axe out of the corpse, she repeated her motion on the second drakel. The third was already dead- his sword had gone flying, and landed in the un-guarded space between his head and chest.

The Mourner attached the axe back onto her back, and then pulled out the dagger she had used earlier plus another from her belt. The army closed in once again, and another came at her. He was bigger than the other soldiers and burlier too. He was without armour, and probably had tougher skin, but the Mourner knew that he would come down just as easy as the others, if not easier. Raising her arms and weapons, she darted forwards and slashed at his jugular. Blood poured out of his neck as she moved onto the others.

She slashed their necks (just as she had done to the large drakel) sometimes stabbing the armour-less in the heart while cutting their throats. The carnage continued, and the Mourner began to kill automatically, hundreds dying as her mind stayed blank; felling person after person without batting an eye.

Eventually, the Mourner began irritated. She gritted her teeth; she had taken out plenty of civilians and soldiers, yet more still kept coming. Grabbing a soldier that tried to attack her, she twisted his head violently to the side, snapping his neck in a single swift movement.

There was a momentary pause in the battle. The Mourner's eyes scanned the land, counting how many felled bodies there were by now. It was a rough guess, but there had to be over three hundred corpses from soldiers alone; added up to the masses of townspeople, it must have been at least six hundred.

A shot disturbed the Mourner from her calculations. Looking to where it came from, she saw hundreds of more drakel soldiers, each armed with a gun.

The Mourner's breath hitched. Memories of pain shot into her mind, but she forced them down. The drakel all lined up in a row, each one aiming for her. The Mourner sheathed her bloody dagger, and reached for the chain around her neck. Pulling it off of her head, she wrapped it around her wrist, holding the ring between her thumb and forefinger.

The leader of the Drakels shouted something, and the soldiers raised their guns to fire. He shouted something again. Almost simultaneously they all shot at her. The Mourner let the ring fall into her palm, and then wrapped her hand around it, squeezing the piece of jewellery lightly. The gem, a cross of 

amethyst and chocolate brown seemed to glow in her fist. A translucent shield surrounded the Mourner.

The bullets that hit the shield bounced off of it, ricocheting back to where they came from. They flew round the battlefield, piercing through armour and flesh, either killing the shooters instantly, or injuring them enough that they would surely have a slow death.

When all the drakel gunmen were down, The Mourner let her shield drop. She resisted the urge to sneer from underneath her cloak. Now they all knew. They all knew what it felt like; they had all felt Rayne's pain.

After that, things became blurry and slurred once again. The exact details, exactly what she did, she could barely remember. All she recalled was going after the rest of the troops, killing all that she could. And when the 'army' was dead, she went back to the civilians, those who had foolishly kept running the streets in terror. They all died at her hand, and she didn't care.

* * *

The city was quiet now. The sounds of battle and the thundering sound of crowds running were gone, replaced with an eerie silence.

Then, she heard it.

It was low at first, but it increased steadily in both pitch and volume. It was a bloodcurdling howl, and it sent shivers up The Mourner's spine for two reasons.

One: It was so haunting and inhuman in the way it was emitted. It was mournful, terrified and enraged all at the same time. She had only heard something like that once before, in her Guardian days, when they all had to return to Rayne's hometown. It had come from a 'wild' drakel, at finding its family slain. She had been told that even the civilized lizard people were capable of a scream like that, yet only when something truly terrible had happened.

Two: The yell was quite loud, meaning that whoever made the sound would have had to have been close, even with the echoing that the lack of everyday noise caused. She was sure that by now, the few drakel left who had some sort of a (working) brain in their heads would have shut their mouths and tried to hide from her. That would mean someone else would have come to the city. But nobody in their right minds would come now...

Except for a single group.

"Damnit." The mourner muttered. This wasn't part of her plan. She should have realized this would happen; but she was stupid, and she forgot all about them.

The Mourner dashed into a building, the door left hanging wide open from its occupants rushed escape. She ran up the two floors on the stairs, until she reached the top floor. Leaping out an open window and onto the roof, she climbed up to the highest point. While not the tallest building in the Refuge city, it would serve her purpose.

The Mourner stared down at the roads below her. They were littered with bodies; some missing body parts, some lying in pools of blood, some with their limbs twisted into grotesque positions. Everything was still. Then, in the corner of her eyes, she saw movement. Looking at it directly, she saw that it was a person. Whether it was a drakel or a human, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that they were from the squad hunting for her- the green cloak said it all.

Suddenly, that person was joined by a group of people. One turned and stared directly at her. The Mourner cursed under her breath. That, she knew for sure, was a drakel. They had better eyesight than humans; only slightly, but it was enough for them to see that she was not part of the building.

As they all began to run toward her, the Mourner jumped off of the building roof, and onto the next one; she would deal with them later. Right now, she had to finish the whole ordeal with the Refuge city- all the drakel who thought they had gotten away with their lives, all the dead drakel who were now sprawled on the streets, every single thing that had to do with them here- once and for all.

She leapt from rooftop to rooftop, as the group followed her from the streets. Some time had passed, and the Mourner still had not been able to shake them. She gritted her teeth together in irritation, then jumped off of the roof (landing catlike on her feet) into an alley. Within a moment, she began to run again.

Left, right, forwards, backwards. Across the bloodstained street, down another cadaver-littered path, she weaved her way through the maze of alleys and roads. Jump a fence here, climb a wall there. Eventually, with much persistence, she managed to lose the group as she hid in the shadow of a building. Panting, the Mourner struggled to catch her breath. Even in the top health that she was in, the chase added in with the fight, had given her quite the workout.

She rested her hand against the door of the building that she was hiding by. She almost fell over as she accidentally pushed it open. Usually, it wouldn't have mattered- many doors, just like the one earlier, had been left open. It was normal, considering everybody had been trying (literally) to run from their death.

However, nothing was normal about the sounds that were coming from inside that building – shuffling, clanking, thudding, and the occasional muted yell.

That would mean that someone was inside.

The Mourner pulled out her blade, and crept inside. There was a long hallway, leading to yet another door. She opened it to see that there was a stone staircase, leading to presumably below ground. With her sword still out, she slowly made her way down. An occasional lamp lit her way, but otherwise, she was in almost complete darkness.

The stairs continued on for the longest time. The Mourner didn't know how long she had been going down them now. All she knew was that it was a considerable period of time; the steps seemed to go on forever. It was when she finally thought about turning back, that the staircase finally ended, and she was at a slightly ajar door. Looking through the crack, she saw a drakel.

Her grip on her sword tightened instantly. She was ready to throw open the door and kill it; however, his mumbles stopped her from doing just that.

"I must finish this..." He muttered, his back towards her. "The Mourner will come soon, no doubt about that..."

There was a click, and a ringing noise as he banged whatever he was tinkering with against a table he sat at. "That Mourner won't get me though...not with this." He let out a crazed, triumphant laugh, and turned around in his chair. In his hands, he held a small firearm.

It wasn't the new gun that stunned the Mourner, though. It was the drakel. His face...she couldn't ever forget that face.

* * *

_The scientist began to panic, and dropped his gun. "I-it was an accident! I swear!" He yelled. Lizzie looked up at him. She stared at the drakel, the face of the man who killed her Rayne forever imprinted in her mind._

* * *

The Mourner's vision went red, and she burst through the door. The scientist jumped up, gasping in surprise and horror. He raised the hand with the gun, aiming to shoot. The Mourner was too fast though, and before he could even get a proper aim she pulled a dagger from her belt, flinging it with a flick of her wrist at him. He cried out as the dagger hit his arm, causing him to drop the gun. It flew out of his hand, and slid across the ground toward the Mourner. She kicked it to the side of the room, not before welding the barrel shut with magic.

"You." She growled. The drakel whimpered, blood pouring freely down his wrist and hand; the dagger had managed to give him a deep gash.

"Don't hurt me." He pleaded, cradling his injured arm with his good one. "What have I ever done to deserve this?"

"You've done it all." The Mourner hissed, striding over and grabbing the scientist by the collar of his coat, lifting him up with ease; he was rather small by drakel standards.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He stammered eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"It's all your fault." She said, shaking him roughly.

"What is?" He asked, woozy from pain and being shaken so hard. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

The Mourner dropped him carelessly on the ground. She chuckled, the sound sinister and disbelieving to the scientist's ears. "You've done everything."

"You're the reason why all of your people have been dying. You are the reason why virtually the entire drakel race has been, or will be, wiped out."

"How can this be my fault?!" He cried, trying to shake away his dizziness. "It wasn't me that killed them! You did!"

"But you're the reason why I began to kill them in the first place." She replied, staring down at him coldly. "Because you killed her."

He flinched. "You've got the wrong person; I didn't kill anyone."

"Don't lie to me." The Mourner snarled. "I see right through that lie. You still remember it, don't you? Because I still do. I'll never forget." She grabbed him again, picked up the dagger that still lay beside him, and dragged him to his feet, her grasp even rougher than before.

"It was five years ago. In the town of Battleon." Her fingers curled around the hilt of the dagger and gripped it even tighter. "You killed someone. A woman. A Guardian."

"You killed her. You shot her; the person who meant the most to me, gone, ripped away from me, from everyone, too early." She stabbed the dagger into his wound.

"_It's all. Your. Fault." _With every pause, the Mourner twisted the dagger, and with every twist, the scientist let out a harsh, rough grasp. With a final twist, she pulled out the weapon, blood gushing out of it now that there was nothing to obstruct its way.

"Please..." He begged. "I don't deserve this...I don't deserve to die..."

"You don't deserve this?" The Mourner laughed a cruel, cold, almost maniacal laugh. "Oh no, dear sir, you deserve every bit of this, and more."

The Mourner placed the razor sharp tip of the dagger against the scientist's wrist, placing pressure upon the weapon and slowly dragging it up the drakel's arm, leaving a trail of sliced cloth and skin in its wake, both quickly turning a crimson red.

"You definitely deserve to die." She said to him over the sickening slicing sound and his screams of pain. She switched to his other arm, drawing another gruesome line of fabric and flesh, talking all the while.

"Because you took away my only reason for living. Because..." She trailed off, and her hand stilled as she held the dagger still at his shoulder.

"The only thing I really had left, were the moments- just moments- when Rayne would look at me, and I was wonderful. But thanks to you..." Her hand shook, and the Mourner bowed her head. "Thanks to you..." She muttered, "That will never, happen, AGAIN!" She roared the last word, and the drakel let out a blood curling scream as The Mourner plunged her weapon deep between his shoulder and neck.

Blood dripped down onto the floor, running down his arms. Every second, drops of blood would rhythmically hit the floor, every tiny splash counting each precious second of his life slipping away.

"I'll never see her face again. I'll never make her roll her eyes again. I'll never hug her or kiss her lips again. I'll never hear her laugh, cry, or moan again." The Mourner stated. With every ting she lifted, she would slash the scientist's body everywhere, except for his head and torso.

"I'll never see her smile again." The Mourner shook, as the dagger rose and fell, embedding itself within the space between his other shoulder and neck.

"It's all these reasons and more, why I haven't killed you yet." She said. The drakel opened his eyes with difficulty, looking at her confused. The Mourner saw this and smirked. "She went through so much pain in her life. Even before she died, she was hurt by your bullet."

She eyed a gun that was sitting on a table in the room. It was of the same style of that gun she saw on that tragic day five years ago. She glanced down at the drakel on the floor, a puddle of blood forming around his body.

"Perhaps you could tell me the pain you feel from being shot." She remarked, drawing a finger up the barrel. The metal was cool against her fingertip, and the scientist's eyes widened.

"But no." The Mourner took her hand away. "You won't know the pain. Because I refuse to ever use one of your filthy weapons. Besides…" She raised the dagger, examining it casually, the hilt and the blood gleaming in the torchlight. "You can't go wrong with good old sharpened steel."

The Mourner brought her hand down, stabbing him in the stomach. She stabbed him multiple times, and with each attack he let out a scream. When she was done, The Mourner stepped back and examined her work.

The scientist was almost completely covered in his own blood. There were the lines of red on his arms, and the places near his shoulders where she had cut. His stomach was bleeding, and his legs were sprawled in an impossible position. He flailed whenever he was attacked; once, he actually managed to ram himself into the chair, causing an audible crack that came from his leg.

The scientist's eyes had turned into slits, and he was near dead thanks to the pain and blood loss. Gazing down at his pitiful form, The Mourner decided it was time to put an end to his misery.

The Mourner leaned down, and picked him up, pulling him close to her face.

"You deserve a lifetime of pain for what you've done." She whispered. "But your body can't handle anymore, can it? And that's just a shame; if it could, I'd be hurting you even more than I already have."

She dropped him for the last time. Silently, she contemplated on her weapon. Her daggers, while trusty, were overused. She wiped the blood off of the one she had out, and sheathed it. An axe, while effective, would be too fast. Too clean.

A sword...it was a good choice, but even though it would be an ironic and perfect end, she didn't think that this drakel deserved death by her lover's signature weapon.

_Signature weapon._

She had forgotten about the fourth weapon, the only weapon that she carried around that hadn't been in battle in all her years of being The Mourner.

Slowly, The Mourner reached to her hip. It sat in its place, attached to her belt. She could send it away at will, but she kept it with her so it would remind her of what she was killing for. It was small, only because she hadn't extended it to its full length. Beneath her fingerless gloves, she could feel it throbbing. She pulled it out of its place for the first time in ages.

It had been a brilliant shade of white once, the colour of pure light, radiating with a holy aura. Over the years of killing, it had lost its brilliance and the aura surrounding it had grown dim. But now… now, it had suddenly regained its shine, looking as pure and pristine as the day she had found out about it, and realized her feelings for Rayne.

Without a spoken word, the staff extended to its full length, about her height. It was odd; every year she grew and used the staff, it grew along with her, always matching her height at the time.

Keeping her gaze trained on the scientist, she twirled the staff like a baton in the fingers of her left hand. With one hand, she easily picked him up. Almost all his life force had been drained from him now, but still, he struggled to get away. The Mourner had him sit up almost straight against her at her feet, his back towards her. She slid the staff underneath his chin, and with a swift movement, pressed the staff lengthwise at his throat, pressing him into it with her knee at the same time.

The drakel gave a little gasp, and once again tried to struggle against it. The Mourner just pushed him harder into it.

The drakel's breathing became shallow, and he weakly raised a hand up to try and pull the staff away. He couldn't manage it though, because a moment later, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, as he gave a last, valiant struggle. With all his remaining strength, he managed to jar The Mourner slightly, causing her hood to fall off.

It was Lizzie, not The Mourner who killed the drakel who murdered Rayne Anasi.

A moment later, the drakel slumped forward and stopped all movement. As Lizzie stared upon the corpse, she felt her body relax for the first time in the longest while. She would have to leave now, she thought. Now that there was only one more thing she had to do.

And without a second glance, Lizzie turned around and pulled on the hood of her cloak. She slowly walked up the stone staircase and out of the room, back onto the streets. And she walked right out of the city just as she had done so many times before.

But unlike all those other times, she turned around. She held her palm out in front of her, and chanted words underneath her breath. As she reached the middle of her incantation, the group of drakel and humans came back into sight.

"THERE SHE IS!" One of them yelled. The Mourner paid them no mind, and continued on with her spell. The hunters began to run at her. And when they finally reached the woman, she said the last word of her spell. A small ball of fire appeared in her pals, and it shot out, growing larger and larger until it almost engulfed all of them.

There was a last bright flash of light, and the group stared on in shock. The entire of Main Street was on fire, and it was quickly spreading to all the other buildings.

After a while, one of the broke out of their stupor went those few final steps forward and grabbed at her arm.

The Mourner didn't respond.

Hesitantly, another person came forward and grasped her other arm.

The Mourner didn't break away

She didn't even try to resist.

She just stared down the street, watching the city of refuge be painted a bright scarlet.

As the final safe haven began to burn down into ashes, everybody there realized something.

The Mourner's end had finally come.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed. Please review; I enjoy getting feedback, especially on this story.


	8. The End

The End

Disclaimer – I own Rayne, Lizzie, and Kay. Everybody else, I don't own.

* * *

"Put him in here."

Lizzie was tossed roughly into the cell by two of the force members. She was still in full Mourner garb, (apparently, she was going to be unmasked to the entire group later on) but she was missing her weapons. Those had been taken away from her the moment they set off to transporting her to their base camp. All had been taken, except for her sacred staff. That couldn't be touched by anyone by her and Rayne anyways, but, there were complications.

She didn't have to worry about her appearance. Nobody had ever seen her before- all the Guardians they had chosen to hunt for her were younger- none would know what she looked like (not including Kay). The Sacred Staff, however, would be known just from sight. Warriors of all classes and ages knew of the weapon, and people knew the name of the wielder. She would be recognized as Elizabeth Miura-Anasi, just from the fact that she had the staff on her.

So she sent the weapon away- to where, she didn't know. It was just what she and Rayne had learned they could do with their Blessed weapons; send them away from their hands, to be summoned for use later on. She had gotten rid of her portal com as well- she had destroyed it in the midst of battle. If she was to be caught (or, on the very, _very_ slight chance that she was killed) with it, it would give away the fact that she was a Guardian.

And she didn't want any of that to happen.

Lizzie remained silent as her captors walked away from her holding cell. She scanned the room, and inwardly sighed. If they thought something like this could keep her locked up... She could break out of the cell in literally a heartbeat; even after witnessing her actually quite limited arcane skills, they hadn't done anything to make the room invulnerable to magic.

Plus, the fort that they had chose as base camp was old- Lizzie knew where the weak points were in the walls, just from a mere glance. She knew exactly what to do and how to do so to get out; she had done so before. Somewhere, deep inside, she was offended that they thought she was so easy to keep under lock and key.

Well, only a little bit.

This time, she sighed and sat down on a cot they had put in her cell. She laid down on it, and stared up at the stone ceiling. She didn't talk, she just thought. Thought of everything that had happened, thought of what was happening now, and thought of what was to come.

Eventually, she lost all track of time- and before she knew it, she was being grabbed again and taken out of her cell. With green cloaked soldiers on either side of her, she was led down a passageway, and into a 

room. It was relatively large, and she could see that all the members were gathered. Their faces were obscured; her hood was in a way that she couldn't see their faces, and they couldn't see hers. She knew it was late at night now; her attack had begun early in the morning, but they had a fire on. The floors were of stone; laid in a practical fashion, not meant for pleasing the eye. This was an old fort, after all- not the castle of a king. Yet still, it matched the rest of the place exactly.

Lizzie kept her head up after looking, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She felt one guard leave her side and join the semi-circle of people around her. The other guard cleared his throat and began to talk.

"My friends and comrades." He beamed. "Today, we have finally captured The Mourner. After five years of hard work, we've finally brought his reign of terror to a halt."

'_You should have been an actor, not a soldier.' _A voice in her head snipped, mocking his overly dramatic, obvious start of a mini speech. When Lizzie was a Guardian, the kinds of announcements that this man was making was reserved for when they brought their prisoner back to town. Obviously, their excitement was too great for that. She didn't voice any of her thoughts though; she kept quiet as he continued.

"And even though we caught him, his capture will not bring back all those lives that were lost to this... murderer." He spat the last word out, and the rest of them murmured their approval. "But, his capture will bring an end to the senseless murders, and the dawn of a new era!" The guard shouted, the majority of the people shouting with him.

"SO now, let us look upon the face of this mad man, this murderer, this slayer of the innocent, the Mourner!"

He grabbed her hood and yanked it off. There was a great gasp from all those occupying the room. Lizzie's vision became better, and for the first time, she was able to see the identities of those who made up the group at last.

All of them looked shocked at finally revealing her face. They were probably expecting a deranged, disfigured man, not a beautiful redhead whose looks belied her age. They all had wide eyes and dropped jaws. But no one's eyes were opened wider than the woman in front of her, with hair but a shade lighter than her own, her irises the same colour of amethyst that her lover's half held, an occasional flicker of Lizzie's own emerald green shining in her eyes.

Kay.

Lizzie held her head high, not breaking under the skies and scrutiny. With a glance at the others, her suspicions were confirmed; some people were indeed drakel. The Guardians who were there, she didn't know. The only person she recognized in the room was Kay; and so that's whose eyes she kept locked with her own. And just as she and Rayne used to, she sent Kay a message through the look; '_I'll talk to you later.'_

Her guard was the second to regain his composure, Kay returning to a state of normal before him. He cleared his throat unnaturally.

"We... we should all go to bed for the night. We must set out early for Ren-Tiak tomorrow; there's a week's worth of walking to get there." He hesitated, before continuing on. "Someone has to stand guard over The Mourner. He- I mean, she- might try and escape."

Kay immediately spoke up. "I'll do it for the whole night. I won't fall asleep, I swear."

Lizzie's guard nodded, and stepped away. Kay came forward and took his spot, placing her hand on Lizzie's shoulder, as the guard before her had. But her touch was gentle, not rough like his grip was. Bidding the others goodnight, Kay led Lizzie back to her cell. She shut Lizzie in, and locked the door before taking her place. They stayed in the silence and the tension for at least an hour. Lizzie wondered what Kay was doing, and why she hadn't immediately started to question her. She got her answer a moment later when she saw Kay relax.

"Good, they've all gone to bed." She mumbled. Kay took the keys to the cell and shoved it into the lock, opening the door and coming inside. She stood in front of the door, her head down. Lizzie waited, before quietly calling out the woman's name.

"Kay?"

Kay raised her head and Lizzie saw that her emerald-tinged eyes were filled with pain, hurt, and question.

"Why?" She asked her voice but a whisper. Lizzie bit her lip, and dropped her gaze. Kay's fists clenched and unclenched. Her mouth opened and closed as she struggled to form words. She held on for as long as she could, before she finally snapped. Kay's eyes watered and she ran at Lizzie, throwing her arms around her mother's neck, silently sobbing into the crook of the woman's shoulder.

"Why did you leave?" She asked through her tears, her voice muffled. "Why did this happen? Why couldn't you have just stayed with me? Why, why, why!?"

Lizzie patted her back. With some time, Kay's sobs had been reduced to a few sniffles and her tears had stopped. Still, Kay kept her head where it was. "We have all the time in the world for those questions to be answered." Lizzie told her.

Kay froze up, and pulled back. "You have to get out of here." She said her eyes red and puffy. "While you still have the chance."

Lizzie stiffened at the words.

"Kay..."

'I've got the keys right here." Kay muttered, completely ignoring Lizzie's words. Her eyes flashed with scenarios and plans all in her mind. "I can get you out of the fort easy enough- everybody sleeps like logs- and you can escape into the night."

"Kay, I-"

"I'll need an excuse, though. I can just say that you took the keys from me while I was distracted, and that you knock me out and ran for it. I'll get in trouble, but that's all right. I'll take the blame. They'll probably pity me, and say that it was only expected considering how formidable The Mourner-"

"Kira."

The use of her real name combined with the tone of voice that Lizzie was using made Kay immediately stop mid-sentence, and shut her mouth. She turned to Lizzie.

"I'm not running away."

**"WHAT?!"** Kay gasped, jumping to her feet. "Y-you can't! You have to go!"

Lizzie sighed. "No, Kay. I won't I've done my deeds, and I won't run anymore."

"B-but..." The younger redhead spluttered. "You must! Its not- You can't-** You don't understand!"**

"I understand perfectly, Kay," Lizzie answered. "I've done what I've done, and I freely gave myself up. I'm ready to face whatever punishment I have."

"Mama, you don't get it!" Kay exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "You may be willing to take what's dealt out, but what you deal with will be the last thing you ever do!"

"Mama, if we take you to Ren-Tiak, you might be **KILLED!"**

The last word resounded in the stone cell. Her words hung heavenly, and there was a deathly silence.

_"I'm willing to face that."_

Kay's breath hitched, and she stared, wide eyed.

"What?"

"I'm willing to face the chance that I may die." Lizzie spoke softly, but the seriousness of her answer was more effective than any shout.

"You... you can't mean that..."

"I can, and I do." Lizzie stared right into Kay's eyes, and even though the sparkle that had always been there was gone, she could still see that her mother meant every word.

"B-but I can't let you! I WONT let you!" Kay insisted, her eyes growing brighter with tears that refused to fall. Lizzie sighed. Kay had always been stubborn, and she should be considering what she had just told her, but Lizzie needed to make herself clear. "Kay, for the last time-"

**"I'M NOT GOING TO LET SOMEONE ELSE I LOVE DIE!"**

Lizzie was stunned by the outburst. T dawned on her at that moment, juts how much pain her not so little girl had gone through while she was gone.

"I won't... I won't..." Kay croaked repeating her words over and over again as she shuddered violently. "First mom, then Gale... not you too. I won't let it happen again I won't, I won't..."

Through Rayne's death, Lizzie had lost the person she loved with all her heart. The person she had been willing and ready to give her life up for. But Kay... she had felt the pain and loss of her own mother. Something, Lizzie realized that as an un-adopted orphan, she would never feel. It had been nuns, and her own friends who had raised and taught her. Not her parents- she didn't even know their names. She didn't know what the loss felt like, but she knew that it had to be painful beyond words. Not only that, but Kay had lost the person _she_ loved with all her heart as well. Before Gale's death, Lizzie had seen it every time in her daughter's eyes- she was completely taken with Gale.

Lizzie could barely handle the loss of Rayne. She couldn't imagine the pain of losing two of the closest people to her in such a short time. Kay must have felt as much, if not more, heartbreak and anguish as Lizzie herself had. But unlike her mother, Kay had bared it and continued on, all alone... without her help.

Lizzie sat up from the cot, crossing the room over to Kay. She took hold of the young woman, and pulled her properly into her arms, letting her cry. "Shh..." She quieted Kay, soothingly cradling the adult like the small child she once was in her arms.

"Don't cry Kay." Lizzie murmured, rocking them back and forth as she slowly lowered them both to the ground. "Going through such pain all by yourself..."

She pulled back from their embrace, her long dead maternal instincts reviving and taking over. Gently, she smoothed Kay's mussed hair back, wiped away her tears and pressed a kiss on top of Kay's head. She had done this every time, all throughout Kay's life- she had done it when Kay had come to her as a toddler, crying because she had fallen and hurt herself; as a child, sniffling because of a mean comment; as a teenager, devastated because of the scene she had walked in on between Gale and Jess- and now here she was, doing it again to Kay as an adult. But the circumstances were different; this wasn't about scratches or hurtful words or broken hearts. This time, her tears were about Lizzie freely accepting her death.

"You're a brave girl, Kira." Lizzie told her, staring straight into Kay's eyes, using what little true feeling she had left. "Much braver than I am. There's no need to cry for my sake; I'm not worth your tears. Nothing is worth those."

Kay hiccuped and nodded, clinging onto her mother fiercely. Lizzie stood up, Kay still in her arms (thankfully sans her armour). She carried her back to the cot, which creaked under the weight of the two grown women, and the heavy armour Lizzie still donned. There, mother and daughter sat, in the silence of the dungeon, broken only by the low murmur of a 'shush' and an occasional sniff.

"Mama?" Kay inquired suddenly.

"Mm?"

"Why did you..." The younger adult trailed off, but Lizzie knew what she was asking. The way how she should answer and handle it weighed heavily down on her mind. Kay waited for a long time, but received no response. She had almost given up on getting that answer in the first place, when Lizzie spoke up.

"Once upon a time..." Kay had heard many an explanation begin like this- responses in story form when it was too difficult to address whatever was happening properly. She shifted and settled into a more comfortable position, preparing herself for the explanations that she always enjoyed in an odd way.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl had no parents- she was an orphan. She grew all by herself, except for others at her orphanage. She was always lonely, even with the others around her. One day, she left the orphanage and set for the capital city, aiming to become a knight. When she got there, she ran- quite literally- into another girl with dark hair and a quiet personality, so unlike this girl's own fiery red hair and outspoken, cheerfully loud disposition. Some say opposites attract, but that wasn't what drew the orphan girl to this new person. It was her eyes- a mix of chocolate brown and amethyst, such an odd colour, but perfect on her. They became friends, and were both knighted. Then one day..."

"What? What happened one day?" Kay asked after Lizzie's pause grew too long to be natural.

"I'll tell you more later."

Unlike all other times, Kay didn't protest for Lizzie to go on. She had realized it from the start; this wasn't a fairy tale, or a metaphor; this was the lives of her parents, the tale of friendship and adventure and camaraderie that she had never fully heard before, but simplified. She knew that her mother needed the time she asked for; not to recall (the details for the memories she spoke of were still fresh in her mind) but to put her memories into a story, discreet enough to be regarded as any tale of fiction, but obvious to those who knew of the people that the characters were based on.

So Kay left the cell, the weak light of the early morning shining through the barred window. Looking over to Lizzie, she saw that the woman had fallen asleep; their conversation had to have been just as physically draining for her mother as it was for Kay herself.

Some hours later, after a shout from a comrade, Kay entered the cell once more to gently shake Lizzie awake. "Mama." She whispered. "Mama, get up. We have to set out today."

Lizzie jerked awake before Kay had said 'up'. She nodded, and straightened her cloak, clothes, and armour, before walking out of her cell and handing the rope that was on the floor to Kay. Kay looked quizzically at it, and then at Lizzie. The older redhead held her wrists out, and Kay's eyes widened. "No mama, I can't do that..."

"You have to." Lizzie responded. "I'm a dangerous, blood thirsty murderer, according to what I've heard. The rest of your team will fly into a panic and become suspicious of you if you don't bind me."

Try as she might, Kay knew there was no fault in what the woman said. That didn't stop the bile rising to the back of her throat, and the unbelieving, sick feeling she felt coming from her stomach as she tied the ropes around her own mother's hand and wrists like she would to a petty criminal.

With barely any force, she led Lizzie out of the dungeons and outside the fort, where the rest of her comrades were waiting, with a mobile prisoner's cell, disguised as a covered merchant's wagon ready and waiting to go. Bars were too conspicuous for this, so the mages of their group had crafted an invisible barrier. Kay took her to it, and put Lizzie inside, her own amethyst eyes flashing emerald and pain as she did so. A moment later, Lizzie heard Kay mount whatever they were all riding on, and off they went.

They traveled the whole day, only stopping at noon and at sundown; both of which times the barrier would come down and a simple meal would be shoved into her cell. At night, when the rest of the guard had gone to bed in their tents (except for Kay, who had volunteered to be the Mourner's watcher the entire week) Kay would come and sit by the cell, taking down the barrier (of which only she and those who had constructed the barrier in the first place knew how to do) and letting Lizzie out, while listening to the story that Lizzie would tell her. For six days, this happened, and for three of those days, Kay learned the disguised tale of her parents, bit by bit.

Kay gasped at hearing how her mother's had come upon their signature weapons; she chuckled at the unconventional way they had met the Despair sisters; she flinched, hearing what they had to go through as they helped stop the return of the Mage of Despair; she cried, hearing of how Rayne had managed to cross Lore just to find Lizzie.

So many emotions were evoked from the woman, for all these tales had been previously unheard of. Kay knew that her parents had gotten through many things together, but it was only now- especially after hearing how Rayne had taken a 'bullet' ( a magical, blood filled ball, but a bullet-like projectile nonetheless) through her heart and nearly died for Lizzie in the process- that she realized how devoted they were to each other.

Halfway on the journey to Ren-Tiak however (on the fourth day to be exact), Lizzie's stories began to differ. It was a small plot change really- the girl in the story (who was obviously Elizabeth Miura herself) had had her best friend taken from her, so the girl went around, sending those who had taken the other girl far, far away. Kay knew what she was really talking about; the fact that she had become the Mourner. Kay still didn't understand why her mother did what she did, but the stories began to help her understand a tiny bit more.

So the stories continued. Lizzie told Kay that many monsters (which she knew meant Drakel) had been sent away in different ways. The girl did many things to do so, and Kay knew each one had a different meaning. The little girl chased them away with something sharp usually; meaning The Mourner's choice of weapon was a sword. Other times, though, the girl would shine a bright light at them, or tap their necks. The light represented magical spells, and the touching meant the snapping of their necks. There were a few other ways other than those, and it frightened Kay to hear how something as innocent as those little gestures could mean something as dark as murder.

But that wasn't all she spoke about. She talked about how the girl (who had aged slightly all throughout the story) missed her best friend terribly, and how she kept on remembering all the times between them. The story brought tears to Kay's eyes once more. She could see now, how completely shattered Lizzie had become at the death of Rayne. Kay would have never believed that someone could be so affected by losing another person, until Kay had lost Lizzie herself.

She had broken down, but someone had put her back together; Gale. Lizzie didn't have someone who would do that for her- that person who always had was now dead. With Gale's help, Kay had picked up all the pieces she could and moved on.

It was evident that Lizzie hadn't, and she never would.

Maybe, if Lizzie hadn't gone to take revenge and stayed home, maybe all of this, this hurt, this slaughter, this murder, wouldn't have happened. But it had.

Kay couldn't focus on the past. She had to focus on the future.

Through the stories, it was obvious that Lizzie didn't believe in the same thing. Every story was laced with a memory, with thoughts of Rayne, every single bit of her tale, except for the tale she told on the last day of their journey.

* * *

"So the girl told stories for days, telling the younger girl about herself and her best friend. Then one day..."

Lizzie trailed off. Kay looked at her. "Aren't you going to keep going?"

Lizzie shook her head. "You'll learn the rest tomorrow."

"But... tomorrow is when we get to Ren-Tiak." Kay said, her brows drawn together in confusion. "You can't possibly tell me the ending then..."

"I said you'll learn the end of the story tomorrow." Lizzie murmured. She stared out of the moonlit window of the abandoned fort they had bedded in for the night, as opposed to sleeping outdoors. "I never said I would be the one telling it to you."

Kay's eyes widened. "Mama..." Lizzie didn't answer. They sat there, the only noise in the cell the sound of breathing from both women.

"Kay?"

"Yes?"

"I want you to tell my story to everyone. Just as I have told it to you."

Kay sat up straight, looking quizzically at her mother. "But... why?"

Lizzie just kept staring out of the window, not turning to Kay. "Everybody only knows the tale of The Mourner from a different point of view. I want them to know exactly how it happened from how I see it."

"But...you can tell everyone yourself." Kay said.

Lizzie chuckled, her laughs low and bitter. "Kay... it's obvious that I WILL be executed. The Drakels are only giving me a trial to make themselves look better to the humans. Not that the people mind, anyways; they may not like the Drakel, but they're calling for my head as well."

She didn't see the last shred of hope fade from Kay's face; she knew it was already happening.

"Plus, on the impossible chance of a pardon, my reputation would be tarnished. One of Lore's Guardians – the strongest, fastest, smartest, most virtuous fighters in all the lands- turning up to be The Mourner? No, no one would listen to me. No one would even dare come close, out of fear. Not to mention that you would be affected as well; you're my daughter, after all."

"You'd be alienated by the people around you, lose your positions, your ranks, and everyone's respect. You would suffer for what I've done. You probably will suffer anyways- the people will want to know the identity of the terror of Lore, and surely, some of my former comrades and those I have helped will recognize me."

At that moment, Kay's eyes brightened. "I have a way we can fix that though." She muttered. Lizzie turned around, looking semi-interestedly at Kay. "How so?"

Quickly, Kay reached into her cloak and pulled out two, small scrolls. "When I began to fight," She explained, unfurling her scrolls. "I began to dabble in magic, thinking it might give me an edge in battle." Scanning her eyes over the contents of the scrolls, she smiled sheepishly. "Unfortunately though, I've only been able to manage small things." She looked up at her mother.

"But, that's all I need to save the both of us."

Kay stood up and placed a hand on Lizzie's head. Lizzie stiffened at the contact- she couldn't help it. It had become habit to her after not having a single person lay a finger on her for years. It was only during brief flashes that the habit would leave, and even then it was usually her doing the touching in the first place.

It saddened Kay that her mother flinched away from even her own daughter, but Kay knew she didn't mean it.

"Close your eyes." The amethyst-eyed woman told her. Lizzie did so. A moment later she felt a strange, tingling sensation. When Lizzie opened her eyes again, she didn't see anything different; she didn't _feel_ any different either.

"Nothing happened." She said, tucking back a lock of brown hair that had fallen into her eyes-

Brown hair.

Lizzie grasped a longer lock of her hair and held it up to her eyes.

Her hair was brown.

She stared at it- it was so different from what she always saw. She was used to bright, orange-red, not dark chocolate brown. The former redhead looked up at Kay, who was staring as well.

"No one would recognize you." Kay said in a strangled voice. Looking closely, Lizzie could see that she was holding back tears. She knew why they were there; Kay was finally accepting her mother's fate. They knew; they both knew that Lizzie would be condemned to death. Kay knew, but she hadn't wanted to accept it. Kay had been clinging onto that impossible idea that Lizzie would be pardoned. Now, with this sudden change, Lizzie knew that Kay had finally accepted that it would happen.

"Thank you Kay." Lizzie murmured, letting the dark strands of hair slip through her finger, her eyes meeting amethyst gratefully. Kay smiled ruefully, and wiped her eyes.

"I... I should do your cloak as well." Kay said. "It would be terrible if the courts found the symbol of the Pria Knights and the Battleon Guardians on it, after all." She said with a bitter smile, as she reached forward and touched the cloak.

As she came close, Lizzie seemed to freeze and shirk away. Kay stopped her hand, looking bewildered.

"Kay." Lizzie sighed. "You know... you know this is one of the only things I have left of her. I don't want to change a thing. Please, no..."

"Mama, I promise, I won't ruin it." Kay said. "I'll just take off the crests, I promise."

Reluctantly, Lizzie handed over Rayne's cloak. Even though she knew her daughter would be careful, she still winced when Kay magically removed the seams of the crests. After hours (which, in fact, had only been a few minutes) Kay handed back the cloak. Lizzie took it back, and wrapped it around her shoulders once more.

Taking a fold of the fabric, she breathed deep. Even though it had been years since Rayne had worn it, if Lizzie tried hard enough, she could still smell the scent of mint and the rain. Kay observed her; although her mother had become virtually emotionless over the course of five years, watching her nearly go into hysterics over her late mother's cloak was adorably heartbreaking, if that made any sense. Kay didn't know whether to cry or smile.

"Kay?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes?"

"Go and get some rest."

"But... mama... I want to stay with you. Tonight could be-"

"Rest." Lizzie said firmly. Kay's brows knitted together, but she knew not to disobey.

Kay left the cell, and sat by the door. She wrapped herself once more in her green cloak and closed her eyes. Within moments, Lizzie could tell that Kay was asleep. Lizzie could tell that she was tired- they were usually up almost all night with the stories, and during the day, with the constant traveling, Kay probably had very little time to sleep.

Listening to the rhythmic breathing of Kay, Lizzie soon found herself being lulled into sleep as well. Finally, slumber overtook the new brunette, and she began to dream.

Her dreams were filled with flashes of light and colour, snippets of laughter and tears, brief visions of passionate nights and gentle mornings. Each was part of a memory that Lizzie had and each memory was bright and vibrant, remembered in perfect clarity. Suddenly, the memories were over, and Lizzie was plunged into a white abyss. She didn't know where she was- all she knew was that she was alone. It was completely silent, until a voice boomed from an unknown place.

"Elizabeth Miura." It said in a voice that was neither masculine nor feminine.

"Yes." Lizzie answered.

"In your life, you've done terrible things. You've slaughtered many, the innocent and weak drakel; nearly wiped out their race, all for your own revenge."

"That's true." Lizzie murmured, keeping her voice down.

"But your good deeds outnumber your wrong doings." The voice stated, becoming slightly less harsh than it had been to Lizzie's ears. "You've saved my land from being destroyed. You have protected many and placed your own life in danger innumerable times for people whom you do not even know."

"That's true." Lizzie said once more.

"You are the keeper of the Sacred Staff, a weapon i have blessed myself. You have used this staff to protect these unknown people I speak of. I thank you."

"You're welcome." Lizzie said.

It was a while until the voice spoke again. "As a reward for all those good deeds, I will let you have anything, anything that your heart desires before you die."

"But," The voice said, momentarily regaining its cutting edge "For the slaughter of the drakel, I will only grant you one thing. Choose wisely."

Lizzie thought long and hard about her decision. She could have anything, _anything_ that she wanted Many times over, she went through a mental list of what she would want, but none seemed quite right. Then, the answer hit her.

"I know what I want." Lizzie said softly.

The Sacred Staff suddenly appeared in front of Lizzie, and she knew what she had to do. Stretching her hand out, Lizzie clasped the middle of the staff, and slowly closed her eyes.

She whispered her wish into the surreal silence, and with a sudden jolt, awoke to the sensation of Kay shaking her awake.

"Mama, mama, it's time to go." Kay murmured, her voice roughened from sleep... and sobs. She hadn't heard Kay's cries but she didn't need to; the faint tear tracks on Kay's cheeks spoke volumes.

Lizzie nodded and rose from her bed. As Kay led her out of the cell, she thought about what she had seen. Was it all a dream? Was it just her mind playing tricks on her? Or was it real? Did all of that really happen? Would her wish come true?

Those were questions that Lizzie could not answer.

However, she had no time to even think about answering them as she was put into her cell again. It began to move swiftly, and Lizzie was lost in the rhythm of the road. For a long time it was rough, and there were many bumps.

Then suddenly, it seemed to change. The road became smoother, if only slightly. There were no more of the dust tracks that had blocked her view. Now, it was clear, and she could see her surroundings.

Not that there was much to see anyways.

The city- if you could still call it a city- was in ruins. Lizzie remembered hearing the year before about a fire that managed to engulf Ren-Tiak. No one was sure what had happened; all they knew was that it had come from the building that Rookshak, one of the engineers, did his work in. Everyone had assumed that it was something he had done gone horribly awry. No one could ask him; it seemed he had perished in the blaze.

It was clear that they hadn't fully recovered from it yet. The rubble lined the streets, the broken buildings (that didn't quite meet the standards she had heard about) looming, disfigured, above her. Some of them were covered in dark streaks, showing where the flames had licked at their sides, almost, but not quite managing to turn the buildings completely into ashes.

Soot lingered in piles here and there, haphazardly swept up by residents that Lizzie didn't see. In places where some form of vegetation must have once grown, there lay little more than blackened stumps, all signs of plant life having been destroyed as the buildings had been. The town was blackened, burned, and scorched, no matter where she looked.

Was this really the city that Maria had told tales of? Lizzie asked herself. She recalled the haunted look in the woman's face, the way her confident tone became quiet and her eyes flashed with terrifying memories before turning to the floor. If only the retired Guardian could see it now. Would it still bring Maria fear?

'_Probably not.'_ Lizzie thought. '_She'd just shake her head. Assuming she's still 'alive' so to speak."_

Her covered wagon-like cell rolled to a halt, and Lizzie was let out of it. Looking at where they had stopped, she saw a large building. It was a new building, but not new enough. The drakel were famous for their superior technology, and how they could apply it to all parts of their life. This building was made of stone, and didn't match up to the high tech building (that Lizzie had no doubt) it once was.

Then suddenly, she was grabbed firmly, clawed fingers almost digging into her shoulder armour. _'Get your claws off of me, you overgrown reptile' _Lizzie felt like snarling. Still, she held her tongue, knowing that it was best to keep her mouth shot, her hood up, and her head down.

"We've brought you The Mourner." One member of the group said. The drakel nodded. "Thank you. It is thanks to all of your bravery that we were able to apprehend this murderer.'

The calm that Lizzie felt traveling that one week with Kay was beginning to dissipate. Lizzie almost burst into laughter at the drakel's comment.

'_You call me the murderer? Oh no sir, you've got that all wrong. It wasn't me who killed all of your people; it was you, you and all the other drakel. You all brought this upon yourselves.'_

Lizzie screamed this mentally at the man. Of course, he didn't hear her- he just continued on, heaping praise after praise onto all of them.

"You all-"He waved his hand at the drakel members of the squad "-shall be remembered throughout our people's history, as the drakel who helped bring the Mourner to justice." He turned to the human members, smiling at them. "And you. My people shall remember this. We thank you sincerely, and hope that this act of both drakel and human kind banding together will help seal a long lasting peace."

"Now we must be going- we wouldn't want to be late for your trial." The drakel shook Lizzie slightly, and Lizzie knew he was smiling coldly at her. The squad chuckled at this, and Lizzie heard Kay weakly force out a laugh.

With a last grand bow to the group, the Drakel turned and dragged Lizzie away. Walking away from the Guardian and drakel elite, Lizzie turned her head, and even though she was under the darkness of her hood, she met Kay's eyes for the last time. With all her might, with all her emotion, Lizzie put one final message into her gaze.

'_Be brave, my little girl'_

When Kay lowered her head, Lizzie knew she understood. She looked forward again, not taking another last glance back. She knew that behind her, Kay was wishing desperately that everything was different.

* * *

Harsh, white light glowed down on Lizzie from above. Its source was of magic, and therefore, would never go out; the spell would be cast again, to re-strengthen the flame, but the fire itself would never burn to ashes. It was much like the drakel court -the very same one that gazed down on Lizzie's hooded form at the very moment. The court would always exist. People forming the court would come and go, but there would always be a Drakel court. Lizzie felt oppressed by the synthetic light and the silent, hating stares, but she held out.

"Remove your hood." A monotone voice commanded. Lizzie shifted her chained hands, and removed he article covering her face.

There was a shift in the air as Lizzie did this. Where there was but steely silence before, there was now shock and murmurs of confusion. Chocolate brown hair fell into her face, but she merely tilted her head back, putting it back into place. Her eyes- once green, now blue- stayed fixated in the same spot, dull and lifeless as ever.

No magic could ever change that.

"State your name."

Silence was Lizzie's answer.

"State your name." The voice repeated.

Still nothing.

"State your name." The speaker demanded; the slightest hint of irritation in his otherwise emotionless voice.

At this, the court once again burst into shocked mutters. Over the rumble, Lizzie heard a voice speaking in hushed, yet still loud tones.

"Sir... if he- she- won't speak freely, there are... other ways to-"

"Don't be stupid." His superior snarled. "The Mourner may have killed out people, but we will not break peaceful confession just for her. She may slaughter our brethren, but she shall _not_ slaughter our traditions. Now keep your mother shut, and don't let a thought like that ever cross your mind again."

"Yes sir." The drakel, presumably a soldier, said meekly.

"Besides..." Another drakel (most likely part of the court as well) added in after the other person stopped paying attention. "There is no need for violence. If no answer is received, then we will assume that each question asked has a 'yes' answer. Those that cannot be answered with a yes or no, are ignored by this court" Lizzie knew that whoever was speaking had a smirk on their face. She didn't even have to look; she could _hear_ it. "Her silence speaks for her."

Finally, the voices hushed, and the speaker continued.

"Mourner, you have been killing the drakel people across Lore for the past five years. Is this true?"

"..."

"What caused you to do these acts?"

"..."

Question after question was asked to Lizzie, and the answer was always the same- or rather, lack of answer. Just like Lizzie heard, every question she didn't answer was considered true.

Finally, after hours of fruitless interrogation, then questions ended and the people of the court left to make their decision. At the same time, Lizzie was pulled out of the room, and put into a guarded, windowless room.

A little while later, she was pulled back out, and shoved into the courtroom. Once again, she was put in the chair, her wrists in shackles all the while.

"Mourner. After consideration by we, the Drakel Court, we have found you..."

'_Guilty'_ Lizzie thought, the same time the speaker announced it.

"For your crimes, you have been sentenced to death. Your execution shall happen at sunrise, tomorrow."

'_Tomorrow?' _Lizzie asked herself as she was escorted from the room by the same to guard who had punted her in there in the first place. '_I thought they would have done it today.'_

Passing a window, she saw there wasn't much of a 'today' left. It was already sundown; the time it took to get to Ren-Tiak and her 'trial' took longer than Lizzie thought.

They brought Lizzie to a cell, much like the one she had been kept in when she was 'captured'. A little more secure this time, and with proper guards, but Lizzie could still break out of the cell faster than she could break a sweat.

She could see it now, what exactly could happen. Lizzie would get off of the cot she was sitting on, and grab at the guards who stood too close to the cell. Well, not at them, but she could grab at the keys that were dangling in plain sight from their belts. She could take those and open the lock, so silently and discreetly that they would never notice. Not that they would anyways; even now, the guards were too involved in the conversation they were having, to pay attention to her.

Once she opened the door, it wouldn't take much to get rid of the guards. She could then make her (  
possibly bloody) escape, and live for another day.

But Lizzie knew she wouldn't. Not couldn't- she wouldn't break out, by her own choice.

She still wished death to all drakel, wanted their demise at her hands, but she knew it was over. She wasn't going to fight any more, because all in all, she had got what she wanted.

So instead of putting her plan into action, she simply lay down on her cot. She turned away from the guards, cleared her mind, and succumbed to sweet sleep.

And all too soon, she was woken up.

The guards grabbed her by the shoulders, her wrists still bound from the day before. They led her out of the building, and through the streets. As they walked, Lizzie saw the townspeople that she hadn't seen yesterday appear and line the streets. Their eyes were all locked on her, but not in the way Lizzie expected. There was no jeering, no taunting, no harsh words or food or rocks thrown at her. Instead, there was simply a fearful silence. As if The Mourner would break free of her guards and chain, and kill the fool who dared to do such a thing.

Lizzie could tell many things from a person's eyes, and that fear was what she saw in the townspeople's. It was that fear that shut them up and forced that grim respect they had for her. They would all be grateful to see her die, yes; but long after her death, The Mourner's name would still cause fright.

Then, as Lizzie passed them, they all began to follow The Mourner on her walk to her death. All along the way, the deathly silence continued. No one dared to speak a word.

Finally, they reached the edge of the town. Everyone walked outside, and even there, there was a large group gathered. Along with the group, was... the gallows. Lizzie was roughly pushed onto the platform on which she was to be hung.

They forced her to stand in front of the crowd, where the red eyes of the drakel and others could all stare at her. A drakel began to read off her crimes, a human following in English. Lizzie ignored this though; she just looked out into the crowd. As she had done after every one of her attacks, she made a rough estimate. This time, it wasn't bodies she counted it was the live people. About the looks of it, there were many; not too many though. Within a few minutes, Lizzie had her rough answer.

One thousand.

One thousand drakel were standing before her, waiting for her death. To some, that number was many; but it wasn't.

For that thousand was probably almost all drakel left alive. And considering that merely five years ago, the drakel were in the hundred thousand's (if not millions) was shocking.

Yes, The Mourner would leave a greater impression than just fear of a name. This thought brought Lizzie peace. She had done it; she had managed to slay almost all of them. Looking on the crowd, Lizzie asked herself if she could have changed things. If she had been given the chance to start over from the day after Rayne's death, would she make another choice?

'_No.'_ Lizzie thought. _'I'd do it all over again.'_

And then suddenly, the speaker had ended his list, and the guards were setting the noose around her neck. "Do you have any last words?" The human asked her.

For the last time in her life, Lizzie remembered. She remembered her friends; Trip, Maria, Natalya, Serras, and Aria. She remembered her colleagues; her fellow warriors, and guardians. She remembered her family, her daughter, Kay. Most of all, she remembered the scent of mint and rain, silken raven hair, a quiet smile, and eyes of chocolate and amethyst.

For the first time in five years, and for the last time in her life, Lizzie truly smiled.

"I'll see you soon, Rayne."

The ground dropped beneath Lizzie's feet, and the crowd began to cheer.

And as the roar engulfed her, Kay Anasi dropped her head and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back her tears; denied the right to cry at her mother's death.

* * *

There was a moment of suffocation, and it was all over. Then she was submerged in darkness. A hooded figure appeared in front of her.

"Well, well, well; if it isn't the Mourner." Death smirked (as well as he could with his skeleton face) twirling his scythe.

"Don't be surprised; I keep tabs on what's going on up there. Plus, you're a friend of Despair's." Death's eyes flashed menacingly at the thought of the vampiress that had trumped and cheated him many, many times before.

"Not to mention, I've had to take many of your victim in the past five years... Elizabeth Miura."

"And now, your day is here." Death sneered at her. His gleeful bony smile faded, and a dissatisfied frown took its place.

"But you're a lucky one, Miura." Lizzie quizzically looked at the Grim Reaper.

"There's a power higher than I that's looking out for you right now." He shook his head and 'tsked'.

"A shame, too. You would have been great help taming the unruly ones."

"Now go!" He said, shooing her with lazy flicks of a bony hand. "She's waiting for you." He added in.

Lizzie swore she saw a playful almost-smile on Death's face as she was suddenly enveloped in darkness once more.

She felt herself being pulled in by some unknown force, towards something in the distance. Her body- spirit- whatever she now was, moved faster and faster, until there was a burst of light, fading to dark once more.

Lizzie suddenly remembered her dream, the one she had on the day of Rayne's funeral. It was filled with laughter, love, and flashes of dark hair and unique eyes. She saw, and _felt_ these things in the darkness. She felt warmth as well, but it as different; she felt it on her face- it was the warmth of light.

The same light that was penetrating the darkness of her eyelids.

Lizzie opened her eyes. She couldn't quite distinguish the features of the land; her vision was just of pure, white light. No wonder she could feel the hard ground beneath her back. Lizzie covered her eyes with her hands, and rubbed them vigorously.

When she pulled her hands away, she sat up and squinted until her vision had cleared. And when it did, she gasped.

She was in a field, surrounded by a sea of green, lush grass. There were large trees of all kinds; both coniferous and deciduous. Here and there, there were splashes of colour, flowers blooming in patches. If she looked in one direction she could see the shore, water gently lapping at it. In another, she could see great, majestic mountains. The scenery was undoubtedly gorgeous, absolutely beautiful.

But it wasn't the scenery that made Lizzie gasp.

It was the woman standing in the middle of it, smiling shyly at her.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth work soundlessly.

Lizzie actually forgot how to breathe.

Finally, she stopped her jaw from moving, and just stared.

Then Lizzie's eyes filled with tears. She closed her mouth and swallowed thickly. When the tears finally rolled down her check, Lizzie let out a single sob. She got on her feet and looked through blurry eyes at the woman, slowly taking a hesitant step forward.

And another.

And another.

And another.

They both stood their ground, staring at each other, never breaking the gaze.

Then Lizzie just couldn't take it anymore.

Lizzie ran faster than she had ever run before, right into the woman's open arms. She threw her arms around the woman's middle, burying her face into the woman's neck, now crying openly.

"I missed you so much." She sobbed. The woman rubbed her back soothingly, mumbling calming words to Lizzie.

And when Lizzie pulled back, the woman took Lizzie's face in both hands, tilting her face upwards. She leaned down, slowly pulling Lizzie closer as she did so.

"Welcome to the other side, my sweet." Rayne murmured, before pressing their lips together in a tender, passionate kiss.

They held on for as long as they could, until the need for air (which still seemed to be a necessity, even in the afterlife) became urgent. And as they pulled back, with Rayne looping her arms around Lizzie's waist and Lizzie wrapping hers around Rayne's neck, they hugged, clinging tightly onto each other, as if the other woman was a long lost dream.

And that was how they stayed.

Two women, holding each other so closely that it was hard to tell where one began and one ended. Two women, forced apart earlier than they ever should have been, reunited in the afterlife.

Just Rayne and Lizzie, with matching euphoric smiles on their faces.

* * *

A breeze passes, and Lizzie's hair whips around her. It has returned to its natural orange-red state, just like Lizzie's life has been returned to the way it used to be but moments ago.

It hits Lizzie then that this is it, this isn't a dream.

Rayne is really there.

With that thought, Lizzie hugs Rayne a little tighter.

Her eyes fill with happy, crystalline tears...

And a sparkle that has been gone for far too long.

* * *

**There we go guys. This is the end of Revenge. I'm sorry I took so long to put it up, but I hope that you all will still enjoy it.**

**I just want to add in right now, thanks to everybody who read it, and those who reviewed. It was your support that made me keep on going.**

**I promise all of you, that there will be an epilogue. I'm not sure when it'll come up; probably in the next couple of months or so.**

**Thanks to flame, who helped me with the fighting and gore scenes. It wasn't me who wrote those; I'm more of an emotional hurt writer. So, if you got a bit squicked out by those...blame her. I only wrote the less intense parts.  
**

**And I just want to ask all of you, to please, review. I've worked really hard on this entire thing, and I'd like to know what you all thought about it. It would mean so much to me if you would take the time to do so.**


	9. The Epilogue

Epilogue

Disclaimer – I own Lizzie, Rayne, Blaze, Trip, Kay, Alex, Sage and partially Felix. Xenolord owns Maria, Natalya, and Serras. All the rest do not belong to me or to him.

* * *

The sun rose up from the horizon, a pink orb moving higher and higher into the sky. It glowed gently at first, but it became brighter and brighter as the seconds ticked by. It stained the sky and the clouds with its colour, the darkness of the night becoming engulfed in its cotton-candy tint before slowly returning to the blue and white it was during the day.

Its light brightened the horizon, everything on the ground being highlighted, bathed in its bright rays. The light caused everything to create darkness too; shadows were casted from everything the light touched- from the ruins of a city, still smoking even though the fire that had burnt it had ended a week ago, to the tall, wooden structure that hung outside another one, just barely rebuilt from a fire that it itself had experienced years ago.

Shadows came as well from the two beings that were by that structure. One coming from somebody (a man) who was staring at the structure and what was hanging on it- the figure that was held up only by the rope around her neck.

He stared at the figure, not moving a muscle. The pinkish light glinted off his armour, and shone on his face. It made his skin look a tad flushed, but it did nothing to his bandana, still the colour of a dark and crisp red apple, even after all its years. The wind blew, ruffling the messy blonde locks of hair that hung out lying on his forehead. As the wind blew around him, he whispered a name into the breeze.

"Lizzie." Blaze mumbled, staring at the form of his friend: Lizzie Miura or, as she was more infamously known as, The Mourner. Her cloak; Rayne's cloak, Blaze recognized- still hung on her body.

What was amazing was that all and all, she was still as clean as ever; even her cloak was filth free. Human hands were afraid to touch her (considering how all her possessions were still on her) and it looked like nature's forces were too.

"Lizzie." Blaze murmured once again, his eyes sorrowful. Slowly, he stepped up onto the wooden structure. Without batting an eye, he wrapped an arm around Lizzie's still form, pulling his sword from its sheath on his back with a free hand. With a quick movement, he had cut the noose free, dropping the corpse from where it had hung for the previous nights.

Blaze sheathed his sword, and used his now empty hand to properly support Lizzie. Doing so also allowed him to get his first proper look at her. Her skin was as pale as ever, and her eyes were closed peacefully. If Blaze didn't know better, he could have sworn she was sleeping.

"Lizzie." Blaze said for the third time, his voice thickening with emotion. Taking a steadying deep breath, he managed to press a button on the device he wore on his wrist, opening up a portal. Taking another deep breath, and forcing back the burning, sickening sensation in his stomach, he walked off of the gallows and into the portal.

A moment later, he appeared in Aria's pet shop.

"Trip?" He called out, surprised his voice wasn't as shaky as his thoughts and feelings were. "Trip, are you here?"

"Coming!" Trip's voice called out from another room.

"What is it?" She asked, walking in casually. She froze the moment she saw Blaze's face. "What's wro-"

It was then that she saw what... or rather, _who_ Blaze held in his arms.

"Oh Creator." Trip rushed forward.

"I can't... that can't..." She muttered, seeing but not believing. "That- that's not... is it?"

"It is." Blaze turned his head to the side, dropping his gaze to the wooden planks beneath his feet, needing to focus on anything, _anything_ other than the cold body that he had just held in his arms.

"No, no, no..." Trip breathed, dropping to her knees by Lizzie's body. Her breathing grew heavy and rough as if she was forcing herself to breathe. She probably was; the shock was obviously taking its toll.

"Oh Liz." Trip whispered, closing her eyes, her ragged breathing the only other sound in the room.

* * *

A few days later, Trip and Blaze stood in the Battleon cemetery. Along with them were Natalya, Aria, Serras, Sage, Alex, Felix, and Kay. They all stood in a semi-circle, surrounding the newly erected tombstone, which read

**ELIZABETH MIURA ANASI**

**A brave kind woman  
and****  
A loving mother  
Who shall be missed**

There was complete silence as they stood around it, every person (swathed in black) with their heads down as they paid their last respects, and mourned the loss of yet another one. Everyone there was aware of the circumstances; and though they knew what this woman had done, they could not be deterred- for they had all known the true Lizzie Miura, the sweet generous girl that everyone loved, and not the cold killer that was The Mourner.

Slowly, one by one, they each left, until only Blaze, Aria, Trip, and Kay were left.

Soon, Aria sniffled and wiped her reddened eyes- she and Lizzie had grown close over the years, and they had become good friends, helping each other out with things that even Trip and Rayne couldn't. As she steadied her breathing, she looked over at Trip, her hand outstretched slightly to the woman.

Trip glanced upwards, and gave Aria a little shake of her head. The pet lover dropped her hand and nodded, knowing exactly what the brunette meant. Trip nodded her confirmation, and smiled a small, sad smile that reached her normally joyous eyes.

'Go on.' She mouthed, and Aria left, knowing Trip would need a little more time to say goodbye to another one of her best friends.

As she left, Kay looked up at Blaze and Trip. She stood up, and left the gravesite, jogging to catch up with Aria. She would come again later, after they were gone; for right now, the woman knew that Trip and Blaze needed this time alone.

The silence that had reigned over the crowd of mourners before still stood, with neither the blonde nor the brunette making a sound to break it. They stood, both staring at the marker, in a tension so thick that it felt like it could be cut apart with a knife. Talking would rid them of both tension and silence, but it seemed like both were still needed, at least for a few more minutes.

So, minutes later, Trip spoke up.

"She's... She's really gone, isn't she?"

Blaze didn't answer aloud, but he nodded. His words weren't needed; it was Trip who needed to speak. They fell into another pause, before Trip spoke up again.

"I knew it was her, you know."

Blaze's head rose, and he turned to gaze at Trip. Trip didn't meet his eyes- hers were trained on the gravestone, reading the words engraved but not really seeing. Still, she focused on the words, and not on him.

"Actually... that's a lie. I knew something like this would happen the minute that I heard the letter that she left Kira."

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked. While his words were not required, perhaps not even wanted, he knew the only way he would get the full story was to make sure that Trip kept speaking.

"In it, she said that she had to do something alone, by herself." Trip mimicked. "Of course, everyone assumed that the pain had become too hard to bear, and she had gone on a personal mission to find herself again."

It was true; Blaze knew so. While he had shared friendship with Rayne, Lizzie, and Trip, the three had been friends since even before they had met him. Even as teenagers, just barely over the age of childhood, they had been inseparable.

"Liz wouldn't go and look for herself." Trip explained, crossing her arms, finally peeling her eyes off of the headstone and staring down at her feet.

"She couldn't; I could tell. She was too far gone- too lost. So when she left, that was when I knew she would do something. My suspicions were confirmed when the reports of the first killings came in."

Blaze began to think about what had happened in the five years; relating to what Trip said. He wasn't there when Rayne was killed, but he knew it had been a Drakel who had fired the gun that had ended up killing Rayne. Some months later, Lizzie disappeared, due to unspoken things she said she needed to do herself. Soon after that, a killer dubbed 'The Mourner' (due to the jet black armour and cape) appeared.

The more the bandanna-clad man thought about it, the more blatantly obvious it became. It was hard to believe though; Lizzie had always been the sweet one, the kind woman who almost never angered and had never judged even the worst of criminals before laying eyes on them. Was she really capable of committing such acts that wiped out so many of the Drakel people?

No matter how tough a pill it was to swallow, it was true. Still, he wondered if anything could have been done.

"Trip..." He said, carefully choosing his words. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea. "Do you think... that anything could have been done?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"I don't think so, Blaze."

Blaze opened his mouth to speak again, but the younger woman cut him to the quick.

"Blaze."

The man shut his maw tight; he was needed to be the listener, not the one to try and argue.

"I know it sounds off, but... I think that the chance was gone before we; before _anyone_... realized it was even there."

"I was there when Rayne breathed her last, Blaze. And the moment that she did..."

Finally, Trip raised her head, and let her eyes meet Blaze's. They were filled with sorrow, and Blaze could tell she was trying her hardest to choke back tears.

"Lizzie was so devoted to her, Blaze." Trip whispered. "And Rayne to her in turn. They were so in love; so _devoted_ to each other_._ When Rayne died..."

Trip took a shuddering breath.

"Lizzie looked so lost; so gone. She was completely, totally, shattered; broken beyond repair."

No matter how clichéd, how overly dramatic, and exaggerated it sounded, Blaze knew this to be the truth. Trip was speaking from her heart.

"The sparkle in her eyes... the **life** they once held left her, right then. She looked dead inside, Blaze; all because of Rayne's death. There was nothing we could have done."

Trip's voice progressively became rougher and rougher. The tears filled her eyes completely, no doubt obscuring her vision. Blaze didn't even think she was talking to him anymore; more the likely, she was just getting everything that she had longed to for five years off of her chest and mind.

"Why did this have to happen?" The brunette croaked. "Why did Rayne have to die? Why did Lizzie do what she did? Why!?"

Finally, Trip broke down. Squeezing her eyes shut, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tears that the woman didn't bother to wipe away.

"My two friends... my two very best friends are gone." She whispered.

It clicked into place for Blaze, right then.

Rayne and Lizzie were famous for having such a strong friendship, and being extremely loyal to each other. What many people didn't realize was that Trip was their third, and the two women had as strong a relationship with her as their own was. She loved them just as much as Rayne and Lizzie loved each other, and they loved her with such intensity as well. Just, in a different way.

She was the silent third, the one who completed the trio, who had stood by her friends through thick and thin, who would love them both for all of their lives and her own, and even beyond.

It hurt Blaze to see Trip like this- all three of the girls were like younger siblings to him. Yet there was nothing he could do; nothing but hold Trip close as she cried, repeating the same words over again. "They're gone, they're gone, they're gone."

_"And I'm the only one left."_

* * *

Two women stood behind the pair, watching their every move. Blaze and Trip didn't realize that they were there- both were too preoccupied with their own tears.

They stood next to a wooden post in the ground, not a toe even crossing the invisible line that the post marked. They stood behind it, as if there was a barrier preventing their entrance. They were on the outside, looking in.

"So Lizzie's finally gone too." One murmured.

The other nodded. "After five years, she's finally left us Maria."

Maris smiled grimly. "And what a five years those have been, Safiria."

Safiria made no response. They faded into silence once more, the quiet only punctuated by the softening yet still audible sobs and sniffles from Trip.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Safiria murmured her eyes sorrowful as they watched the crying Guardian.

"To see her so hurt. Yet I can't help but wonder..."

"Wonder what?" Maria asked.

"About what Blaze said." Safiria explained.

Maria's breath hitched.

"He asked if there could have been any way to stop the slaughter beforehand; if anything could have been done to save her, and all those people."

Maria sighed heavily. "It's just like Trip said, Safiria. The chance... the chance of preventing this from happening passed by before anyone knew it was there and could grasp it."

'_I'm not even sure if it was ever there.'_ Maria thought to herself.

"Maybe... maybe this whole thing could have been prevented if Rayne hadn't died?" Safiria asked quietly.

There was a clear change in Mari's demeanour. A moment before, she had been sad and pensive, her emotions barely expressed on her face. Now, they had been magnified and they were clearly showing; each feeling, plain as day, along with a new one that had not been there before- pain.

Maria chuckled darkly. "It's funny you should mention that."

Safiria's brows furrowed and she became increasingly worried as Maria's low laughter didn't stop.

"Kitten?" She asked. "Are you alright?"

Maria's haunting laugh slowly died out, but she didn't answer the Vampire Queen's question. It was only after Blaze and Trip had left (a few minutes after he had stopped laughing) that she said anything else.

"It's so funny that you should mention this being prevented by Rayne's death." Maria repeated, looking away from Safiria.

"Maria..."

"Did you know that I offered her The Embrace?"

Safiria's eyes widened, but she didn't say a word.

"It's obvious what the answer was." Maria laughed. Before it was borderline insane. Now, her laughter was hollow, bitter. "And it was so ironic that I did! For the next day..."

Safiria put two and two together.

"Oh Creator." She breathed.

Maria, however, just kept going.

"She asked me to lunch that day." Maria said. "I told her no, because Artix von Krieger asked me to do him a favour. When I said that to her... a look appeared in her eyes."

Maria turned to Safiria again, and the vampire queen could see tears shining in her crimson orbs.

"She knew." Maria whispered her voice cracking. "She knew that something bad would happen to her right after I told her that I couldn't go."

Safiria was stunned. Maria hadn't cried since the day that Gale had been declared dead. To see her Kitten in such pain again, in such guilt...

It hurt them both.

"It's my entire fault." Maria whimpered her voice heartbreaking. "If I hadn't gone... I could have saved her. I could have saved her life. I could have saved a woman from being broken, could have saved _**our**_ friend from lying in that **Creator damned casket before her time**!"

Safiria wanted, _wished_ that she could comfort Maria. Yet she couldn't. It wasn't that she didn't have the ability.

It was just that she didn't know how.

She knew how Blaze had felt earlier, as she did the only thing she could; follow Maria away from the town border as the proud warrior grieved for those who she hadn't been able to save in time.

**

* * *

**

Hundreds of years later, in a place that could truly be called a paradise, a young woman stood, staring into a pool of water. Normally, this would not have been very significant, and it would simply look as if she was just checking her reflection; but that was not true. In fact, she was seeing something that was far more extraordinary than her face mirrored in the water; she was looking down on Lore itself.

In the time she had spent in this amazing place, she had realized that she could see the world from that little pool of water if she wished to. All she had to do was think of what (or who) she wanted to see, and the water would smooth out, becoming as still as glass, with the image appearing instantaneously.

"It's almost time." The woman whispered, gazing seriously, deeply into the image that peered up at her.

Soft arms wrapped around the woman's waist suddenly, pulling her close. The woman, instead of stiffening up and trying to break free, just smiled, and leaned back into the embrace; she knew this touch without even having to turn to look.

"Exciting, isn't it?" A voice murmured into her ear.

The woman nodded.

"Very." She said, eliciting a chuckle from behind her. She turned around; facing the person whose arms encircled her waist.

"Hundreds of years and thousands of relatives later, and the day has finally come, huh Rayne?" Lizzie grinned.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Rayne quoted, turning back around. Lizzie swatted at Rayne's arm, even though her smile grew larger and larger.

They stayed in that comfortable silence, Lizzie's arms wrapped around Rayne, her chin on the slightly taller woman's shoulder. "Can you believe it's actually happening?"

"Barely." Rayne mumbled back to her, placing her hand atop of Lizzie's, stoking the back of the woman's hand gently with her thumb.

"We've known for so long." Lizzie softly said.

Rayne nodded soundlessly, and stopped stroking the redhead's hand. With a wordless agreement, they both slowly lowered themselves to the ground and Rayne slunk down in Lizzie's lap.

"Do you think our lives will be as good as they were in the Lore that we used to have, Rayney?" Lizzie asked, her voice wondering as they stared into the distance of their personal utopia.

"Every life is different, Lizzie." Rayne responded, her voice quiet. "It will never be the same as those years; time has changed the land, and the people. Our new life will be good, in its own, new and unique way."

"I suppose you're right." Lizzie admitted. Raising her hands (which had still been tucked protectively around Rayne's torso) she tangled them into the woman's long, dark mane, combing the non-existent tangles with her fingers vigorously.

Rayne looked upwards, peering at Lizzie with concerned eyes. Lizzie playing with Rayne's hair had always been a sign of affection between the two women, but it was rarely done. The only time's her lover did the act as she was doing so now (with such force, though not enough to hurt) was when something was troubling her.

"Lizzie?" Rayne asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"Do you think we will meet each other in our new lives?" The redhead asked, withdrawing her hands from Rayne's hair.

"I... it's just..." From behind her, Rayne heard a heavy sigh.

"To think that there's a chance that I might never meet you... I can't imagine it." Lizzie explained. "I don't want to live without you love. I can't. You saw what happened when..."

Lizzie trailed off, and Rayne whipped around, now sitting up so that she faced Lizzie.

"That was a long time ago, my sweet." Rayne mumbled her hand up to cup Lizzie's cheek, more as an act to soothe rather than an act of affection.

"I know." Lizzie said back, placing her hand on top of the one hand that Rayne wasn't touching her with. "Still..."

"Don't worry about it." Rayne whispered. A corner of her mouth upturned, and she half smiled. "Besides, I don't think we have to be concerned about not meeting."

"...Huh?" Lizzie leaned back, making Rayne's hand drop off of her face. She looked bemusedly at her lover, confusion evident in her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Rayne's wry smile didn't leave at all. "Did you ever encounter a dream? One where somehow, something asked you what you truly wanted?"

Lizzie was just about to answer no, when she remembered. She recalled the voice, the booming, thundering voice, and the white abyss that surrounded her completely.

"Yes." Lizzie answered, nodding slowly. "Yes, I did."

"Well... I had one too. When it asked me, I told it that..." Rayne's smile turned from wry to sad.

"I told it I wanted to be able to be with all of my friends, and you, forever. Including Maria and Safiria."

"But... they're still-"

"I know." Rayne whispered. "I know. But if anyone deserves another chance at life, it's those two. I don't know exactly how it will happen, but Creator knows that it will happen somehow."

"They need this Liz. They need it. All they ever wanted was their friends. That's why Maria..."

"...Why Maria offered you The Embrace." Lizzie finished.

Rayne nodded. "Exactly; in a way, my sweet, this wasn't just for the two of us. It was for everyone, and especially for them. They don't know it now, but they will learn, and somehow all of us coming back will help them."

"I understand." Lizzie responded, and this time, it was her who cupped Rayne's cheek. They pulled each other into an embrace, holding on tightly, keeping their eyes closed, knowing that with each passing second, their rebirths were coming closer and closer.

Suddenly, Rayne spoke up. "Lizzie?"

"Yes, love?"

"What... what did you...?"

Lizzie slowly opened her eyes, meeting questioning chocolate amethyst. She slid her arms from around Rayne's midriff to her neck, linking her hands loosely as she rested her forehead against the taller woman's.

"What did you wish for?" Rayne asked, their eyes locked onto each others.

Lizzie was silent. "I wished..." She paused there for a long time.

"It's okay." Rayne searched her eyes. "You don't have to tell-"

"No love." Lizzie shook her head slowly. "You deserve to know."

"I wished that somehow, in some other dimension, everything... everything that happened to us, to all of our friends..... I wished none of that ever happened. Not your death, not The Mourner, not _anything_."

"Everyone deserves it, Liz." Rayne said. "Everyone's lives were cut short, all of us gone before we should have been."

"Just like you said, everyone deserves a second chance; if not here, then somewhere else." Lizzie smiled. And just like Rayne's was before, her grin was tinged with melancholy. "Call it ridiculous, call it selfish, call it stupid-"

Lizzie was cut off, as Rayne suddenly brought a hand up and placed a finger on Lizzie's lips.

"Shush." The brunette said, before tipping Lizzie's head up slightly, and placing a chaste kiss on her mouth. "It's not stupid, not ridiculous, not whatever else you were going to say."

"It's perfect." She whispered, before kissing her again, this time on her forehead.

Suddenly, they both raised their heads, and rose to their feet.

"It's time." Rayne said.

"It's time." Lizzie echoed, nodding.

Hand in hand, they walked along through the grasslands. Their pace was slow and they didn't talk much. Their silence was peaceful, and they both drank in the sights of their haven for over millennia.

Finally, they stopped. Right in the middle of it all, with the shore in one direction and the mountains in another; right in the spot where they were reunited, after five years of grief, pain, and sorrow.

With their hands together, they turned, melding to each other in a last hug. Their bodies fit perfectly against each other, and they both smiled, relishing the contact.

"How long do you think it will be?" Lizzie murmured, "Before I go as well?"

"Oh..." Rayne rested her chin on the other woman's shoulder, thinking, before raising her head so that their eyes met again. "Only a couple of minutes, I think. Not very long at all."

"A second of time with you gone is like an eternity, love." Lizzie mumbled, burrowing her face in Rayne's neck. She felt the vibration in the taller woman's throat as Rayne laughed softly.

'You sap." She teased, feeling Lizzie smile against her skin.

"Can you blame me?" Lizzie asked, beginning to place tiny kisses all over the juncture of Rayne's neck, slowly moving upwards and mumbling loving words between each little group of kisses, not so much kisses now but Lizzie merely pressing her lips to Rayne's throat.

Finally, she reached Rayne's mouth, where she gave her a little peck. "I mean, this is our last time together, until..."

"I know." Rayne said, her voice loosing the jovial tone she had kept till now. Still, a small smile appeared. "Let's make these moments last, yeah?"

Though they didn't know why, they took each other's hands again, and led each other into an elegant ballroom dance. There was no music, no instruments to accompany their waltz, just the harmony that came from the nature around them.

"Maybe, maybe now I'll learn to dance." Rayne laughed, as Lizzie pressed up against her. Now every movement, every motion was affectionate as their final minute together (for the time being anyways) came closer and closer. "Even in life, I was never a good dancer. I always thought-"

"Hush, you." Lizzie interrupted, though not rudely. Rayne blinked in surprise, and looked down at the redhead, who was smiling teasingly.

"When you dance, you're not stupid." She said Rayne's earlier words now on _her_ lips. "You're not ridiculous, you're not whatever else you were going to say."

"You're perfect." She finished, eyes sparkling as they had for all but the last five years of her life. Rayne tilted her head down, and inches away from Lizzie's mouth, Rayne let herself smile as she only did for Lizzie.

"I love you, Lizzie." She murmured, words uttered with utmost affection. Their lips met, and they held on for as long as they could. It was a scene that could be taken out of any trashy romance movie, and bad and sappy love novel, but for them... it was perfect.

Lizzie tightened her hug on Rayne, and held out... but it wasn't enough. For soon, Lizzie's mouth was pressed against nothing, and her arms held but air.

Lizzie dropped her arms, and put them around herself. They were no substitute for the ones that had been encircling her moments before, but they would do while she waited.

Rayne had left now. Soon, in a few minutes, she would be whisked away as well.

Lizzie sat down in the grass, her hands behind her as she stretched her legs out. Just like the day of her death, she thought, and she remembered. She remembered all her friends, and all her family. She remembered the good time; she remembered the hard times. She remembered their times of laughter, and the constant attacks and wars they had lived, and sometimes barely stumbled through, always returning home together.

When almost all her memories had flashed by, Lizzie asked herself a question.

Would they ever have times that matched up to her memories in their new lives?

When her last thought, the image of her friends, appeared in her mind, Lizzie had her answer.

"No." She said to herself aloud, as she slid down and lay spread eagled in the grass. "No, they won't."

"These new times, will be even better."

With that, Lizzie closed her eyes, Rayne's face appearing beneath her closed eyelids. She smiled back at the image, and let the warmth of the sunshine engulf her.

"Rayne... everyone, I'll see you soon." She whispered. Her vision became a tunnel of white light, and right before the end, she saw all of her friends; from Robina to Trip to Felix, to even Maria and Safiria. She saw that they all, each and every one of them, had their hand outstretched warmly to her.

Lizzie smiled once again, and reached out to them as well.

"Let's go." She said, as they all headed into the light.

* * *

At that very moment, on April 18th at five in the morning in the Rendd capital hospital, Elizabeth Miura came into the world.

Also, at that moment in Rendd (though in a different place) two month old Rayne Anasi opened her eyes and smiled, her grin matching the one on the newborn Lizzie's face.

And somewhere, far, far away, in a place where no one on that Earth could reach; places that we can only dream of going to, places we can only imagine to exist, something happened.

A woman bearing the same name as the two month old infant's life was spared, for a bullet, fired haphazardly by a drakel scientist, missed her completely.

* * *

"Will you read to us?" A little boy inquired, looking up at her with baleful, pleading eyes, a pout on his little face.

"Will you?" A little girl toddled up, grabbing the older girl's hand with her own smaller, slightly sticky one, tugging her arm in the direction of the cozy chair that sat in the corner that was made of two bookshelves. The bookshelves were filled with plenty of books, the brightly coloured carpet inviting them all to come to sit and read.

As more and more children begged, a teenage Lizzie could only laugh and give each one an affectionate, almost motherly pat on the head.

"Okay, okay." She grinned. "But only a short one; I have a project to do, guys."

She nodded to Rayne, who was watching from afar, an amused smile on her face.

Rayne nodded back, and went off to go find the books that they needed. Lizzie sat down in the chair, pulled a book out of the shelf at random, and began to read out loud as the children drew in closer.

"A long, long time ago..."

* * *

"Goodbye!" Lizzie waved to the few kids who had watched her leave the library. She jogged over to Rayne, and the two began to walk.

"Trip, Maria, and everyone else said they would meet us at the penthouse." Lizzie remarked cheerfully. "Do you mind if I stay there until then?"

"Not at all." Rayne replied, hoisting the backpack higher on her back. They walked in a comfortable silence, until they reached the building and the lavish suite.

"Is there anyone here?" Rayne called out as she opened the door, Lizzie in tow. When there was silence, Lizzie peered in. "I guess Felix and Faust went out."

"I guess so." Rayne shrugged. She kicked her shoes off and went inside. Lizzie sat down on the couch, and Rayne sat down beside her.

"Did you have fun?"

"Hmm?"

"Reading to those kids."

"Yeah, I did." Lizzie smiled. "I like reading, you know? I love all sorts of books and stories; especially fairy tales."

"You sure you read to those kids because of the fairy tales and your own love for books? I just thought you liked listening to the sound of your own voice." Rayne teased.

When Lizzie gave her a push, she grinned.

"There's no reason to deny it. 'Cause you know, I like the sound of your voice too."

"You sap!" Lizzie laughed. "You want me to read to you, don't you?"

"Why, Miss Miura!" Rayne gasped, dramatically clutching her heart. "How did you ever guess?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but patted on the spot right next to her. Rayne, sitting pretty close, scooted in even closer and leaned on the redhead, putting a smile on Lizzie's face. Lizzie loved it when Rayne- quiet, cool Rayne, would let _her_ be the stronger one.

Lizzie took out the book of stories she had borrowed, and flipped it open.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl. This girl had no parents- she was an orphan."

As Lizzie continued on to tell about how the orphan girl had met a new girl, she felt an odd feeling overtake her.

"Some say that opposites attract, but that wasn't what drew the orphan girl to this new person. It was her eyes – a mix of chocolate brown and amethyst..."

Lizzie trailed off, and Rayne sat up straight and turned to face her after the pause grew unnaturally long.

"Lizzie?" She asked. "Lizzie, are you okay? Is there anything-?"

Lizzie cut Rayne off, as she caught the taller teen in a kiss. Rayne closed her eyes immediately, knowing Lizzie was doing the same, as they both always did. But this kiss... it was different somehow.

It was deep, tender, and passionate as ever, but the passion was not what it usually was. It was almost... desperate, and laced with sadness, as it this was their last lip-lock ever. As they broke apart, Rayne opened her eyes to see Lizzie still close to her. Lizzie raised a hand, and cupped Rayne's cheek, a motion that was affectionate as ever, but like their kiss, seemed different.

"Love." Lizzie breathed, eyes down, tears that could not be shed suddenly, unexpectedly, building up in her eyes. "Please.... please don't ever, every leave me."

Rayne felt a wave of nostalgia crash over her, and for reasons unknown to herself, she titled Lizzie's head up, and met her gaze with half lidded eyes.

There was no confusion in her gaze. No questions.

There was just pure, unadulterated love.

"I promise that I never will." Rayne murmured. "I promise, my sweet."

Deep down inside of Rayne, deep down inside of Lizzie, the women whose souls had had another chance at life-the women they once were, the women they would be again- smiled.

For they knew, that no matter what, whether it be the prejudice of the world, the insistence and jealousy of others, or even the boundaries of life and death itself, nothing would get in between them.

Nothing would ever break the promise that they had renewed once more, and would renew for every day of their time together- whether they be living, or dead.

**THE END**

* * *

This is the epilogue of revenge, guys.

I'm sorry that it might have taken so long. But... I hope you enjoy. This will be the one of the only times I ask you guys to review- because Revenge means a lot to me. It's my current masterpiece and my favourite piece of work so far. TO me, it symbolizes my turning point as a writer, for before Revenge, I had never attempted such a fic of this size, nor of this genre.

I want to thank everyone who was reviewed, and everyone who's read it from start to finish. You all mean a lot to me.


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